I keep triangulating in my mind three salaries from this full list; those of Nogueira, Edu and Kyle Beckerman from RSL. Edu makes $650K and Nogueira $330K. Beckerman now makes $350K. What can we learn about MLS and their market determinations from these three comparable midfielders? In Beckerman you have loyal MLS citizen and central force of one of the best franchises in MLS. He has almost as many USMNT caps as Edu (35 for Beckerman versus 46 for Edu) and probably has a leg up in reaching Brazil. Edu, 4 years his junior, went the European route and years ago had enough success to earn a shot of the best league in the world. His Stoke City experiment ended in frustration, and he has now returned to the US to revitalize his career. Still Edu played on bigger stages than Beckerman, earning minutes in the UEFA Champions League and World Cup . Then there is Nogueira, a one time captain of a Ligue 1 team and excellent midfielder himself. Personally, I would have thought his European pedigree and success at that level would have him be the highest paid of the three. Is there a premium paid for American players who make it to Europe only to return home? Edu's salary would indicate so. Nogueira did not earn a Europe premium salary but he is largely unknown in the US. Beckerman, while a major player on the US stage, has never gotten the call to Europe - or perhaps he just never sought it out. None of these players are goal scorers, so none command the money to be paid at the top of the league. Still, it's interesting to look at how the careers of three midfielders are valued differently by MLS.