Agents, obviously, play a big part, but ultimately the players are the ones who make the final call. I think agents may lead them to believe they have more leverage than they do.
Regarding Marner, he's one who does deserve big money, but it should still be in the $8mish range........dumbass blew this one big time.
The sad part is, one of my work colleagues and huge leaves fan truly thinks dumbass is a top GM in the league.