He had made his mark, and now he wanted to build a house for himself. For months Troy Aikman scoured the countryside outside Dallas looking for the right piece of land, and when he found it, he knew. This was the spot: a 30-acre tract offered by Ross Perot Jr., a natty square of God's country next to where Terry Bradshaw lived. How serendipitous this seemed. Bradshaw had accumulated four Super Bowl rings, Aikman two. But this wasn't what sold Aikman on the place. Here the trees grew thick and tall, and the earth rolled, and on clear nights you could see the magisterial city skyline 30 miles away.

Aikman hired an architect. One day they met to make plans in a room at the modish Valley Ranch complex where the Dallas Cowboys train. Modish wasn't what Aikman wanted, though. "I wanted part California ranch and part country," he says, "but nothing too ranch or too country." It was perfect, what they finally came up with. It covered 12,500 square feet of living area--big enough for a man who throws one of the best passes in the game. But in the end, Aikman couldn't go through with it.

The biggest problem was cost. Bids had run close to $4 million. He had the money, but what if his career suddenly ended or if he decided to leave Dallas and make a home elsewhere? Who would buy the house? Who has money to spend on a house whose only statement is this: Troy Aikman Troy Aikman Troy Aikman......