Most NFL players would consider one successful career a win. Rarely do we see players getting two. Tom Condon got both! He spent 12 years as a guard, starting all 16 games for five straight seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs. He then spent decades as one of the NFL’s most successful agents, building a client list that included Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and the Bosa, Kelce, and Watt brothers. Now, as Condon battles Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, the quarterback he helped make the highest-paid player in NFL history has a message for him.

“I think about him a lot. I’m praying for him,” Peyton Manning said, as per Dan Pompei of The Athletic.

A 10th-round pick out of Boston College, Condon had no business becoming an NFL mainstay. But a knee injury in his second season did something unexpected. It sent him to law school. While teammates rested in the offseason, Condon was earning his Juris Doctor at the University of Baltimore, already representing players before his playing days were even over. By the time he hung up his cleats after one final season with the New England Patriots in 1985, his next career was already underway.

Since then, he has grown into one of the biggest sports agents in the NFL and represented icons of the sport like John, Joey, and Nick Bosa, Matt and Ryan Kalil, Chris and Chad Kelsays, Peyton and Eli Manning, Zack and Nick Martin, and J.J. and Derek Watt, among others. With this elite clientele, Condon has negotiated over $1.6 billion to $2 billion worth of contracts for his clients over his career, as per a Forbes report in 2015.

For Condon, his experience as a lineman came in handy, as it turned out to be an important reason why Peyton Manning picked him as his agent.

“The fact that he was a lineman just kind of resonated with me. He understood that there was nothing more important than what was happening on the football field. I had total peace of mind with Tom, which allowed me to go out there and play,” Manning said, per The Athletic. “Tom was just a critical part of my football journey.”

Building on this trust, Condon played a key role in Manning’s decision to let his contract expire, to gain leverage once the Indianapolis Colts were forced to use the franchise tag on him during the 2003 season. As Manning won the MVP award, he then signed a deal that made him the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time.

Like Peyton’s career, Tom Condon also played a crucial role in Eli Manning‘s NFL journey. Eli made a splash even before entering the league, as he decided against playing for the team that drafted him. While everyone in his camp was against Eli, Condon remained in the young quarterback’s favor.

Why did Tom Condon back Eli Manning’s decision not to play for the Chargers?

Coming out of Ole Miss, after throwing for 10,119 yards and 81 touchdowns in four seasons, Eli Manning emerged as one of the more sought-after quarterback prospects in the 2004 draft. However, at the draft, the then-San Diego Chargers selected Manning with the first overall pick. Eli didn’t want to play for them. But with Tom Condon on his side, the super agent brought the New York Giants to the table and brokered a trade that sent Manning to the Big Blue.

“In 2004, the San Diego Chargers planned to select Peyton’s brother Eli with the first pick of the draft, but Eli didn’t want to play for the Chargers,” per Dan Pompei of The Athletic. “As the draft neared, Condon maneuvered stealthily, telling the team that Manning would sit out a year if the Chargers took him. Then he helped broker the trade that sent Manning to the New York Giants.”

Now, as he fights Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, the football world is returning the favor. The question is how many more of the names on that $2 billion client list will follow Manning’s lead.