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Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung recently raised a mini-ruckus by declaring that he intends to negotiate his next contract without the services of an agent. A recent article from Tom Pelissero of USA Today throws fuel on that fire, with quotes from other players (including NFLPA president Eric Winston) regarding the ability of guys to do their own deals.

“[I]f you know what he or she knows, then what’s their value?” Giants running back and NFLPA representative Rashad Jennings told Pelissero. (Jennings has proposed that the maximum agent fees be dropped from three percent to two; that proposal is still pending.)

Per multiple league sources, the agents are now determined to show that their value extends beyond doing research on the top contracts at a given position and trading offers and counteroffers until a deal is done. An aggressive effort already has commenced to demonstrate to the NFLPA and the players what agents do.

Ultimately, the question of whether a player will use an agent is a decision that each player will have to make. But it’s a decision that needs to be made with full understanding of what it means to have an agent, and what it means to not have an agent.

In the coming days, we’ll gather some of the pros and cons that any player wrestling with that issue will have to consider.