Nate Burleson

Nathaniel Eugene Burleson[1] (born August 19, 1981) is a Canadian-born American football commentator and former wide receiver. He played college football for the Nevada Wolf Pack and was drafted into the National Football League (NFL) by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Burleson was also a member of the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. Burleson is now working with NFL Network on Good Morning Football and CBS Sports on The NFL Today, along with being a New York correspondent for the entertainment news program Extra. He has featured on several rap songs under the name New Balance.

Nate Burleson
Burleson working for NFL Network in 2015
No. 14, 81, 13
Position:Wide receiver / Return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1981-08-19) August 19, 1981
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:Seattle (WA) O'Dea
College:Nevada
NFL Draft:2003 / Round: 3 / Pick: 71
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:457
Receiving yards:5,630
Receiving touchdowns:39
Total return yards:2,809
Return touchdowns:4
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Burleson was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. At the time his father, Al Burleson, was playing defensive back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was born into a prolific and tight-knit sporting family. His oldest brother, Alvin Jr., played college football for the University of Washington Huskies and the Western Illinois University Leathernecks. Another older brother, Kevin played professional basketball and was formerly a point guard for the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His younger brother Lyndale played college basketball for the University of Nevada Wolf Pack.[2] Kevin and Nate Burleson are one of only two sibling duos in which one brother played in the NBA while the other played in the NFL.[3] As a mark of his father's influence, Nate Burleson's jersey number on the Seattle Seahawks, 81, was his father's high school number.[2]

In 1983, his father signed with the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League (USFL), moving the family back to the United States. However, Burleson remains proud of his Canadian heritage, sporting a maple leaf tattoo and expressing interest in playing for Canada in a World Cup of football to the media.[3] After an injury ended Alvin Burleson's playing career, he moved the family to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, U.S., where he worked for Associated Grocers.[2] Nate Burleson attended Rainier View Elementary School in Seattle.[4][5] He attended Lindbergh High School in the suburb of Renton as a freshman, and then transferred to O'Dea High School in Seattle, where he graduated. As a senior, he was named Seattle Times City Athlete of the Year.[6]

Burleson was also on the school's track and field team, competing as a sprinter and hurdler. He won the state title in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 38.70 seconds in 1999, and finished eighth in 110-meter hurdles as junior.[7]

College career

Burleson hoped to attend the University of Washington, his father's alma mater, but was not offered a football scholarship. Instead he accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Nevada, Reno and played for the Nevada Wolf Pack. In the 2002 season he made 138 receptions, the second highest in NCAA history.[2] His senior year, he led the NCAA in both receiving yards and in receptions per game. During his time at Nevada he made a total of 248 receptions for a total of 3,293 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was named first-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association, All-WAC by the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), and team MVP, and was named second-team All-America by The Sporting News and CNN/SI. He currently holds the WAC and Nevada all-time records for single game receptions with 19 catches. He graduated with a degree in human development and family studies.[6]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jump
6 ft 0 1⁄2 in
(1.84 m)		 197 lb
(89 kg)		 4.43 s1.58 s2.65 s4.16 s6.96 s42 1⁄2 in
(1.08 m)		10 ft 6 in
(3.20 m)
All values from NFL Combine[8]

Minnesota Vikings

Burleson was selected in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, the 71st overall pick. He showed promise during his rookie season, but did not put up great numbers. In his second season, 2004, Burleson emerged as a threat when fellow receiver Randy Moss injured his hamstring. Burleson was now the go-to-guy for Minnesota. He put up strong numbers and reached 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. Not only a great receiver, but a standout special teams player as well, Burleson is the only player in NFL history to have three punt returns of 90 or more yards.[9]

Seattle Seahawks
Burleson with the Seahawks in 2009.

On March 24, 2006, Burleson signed a seven-year $49 million offer sheet to play with his hometown Seattle Seahawks. In retribution for the Vikings signing an offer sheet with former Seahawks guard Steve Hutchinson, the Seahawks put clauses in Burleson's offer sheet which made it virtually impossible for Minnesota to match (similar to what the Vikings did with Hutchinson). The offer sheet stated that the entire $49 million would be guaranteed if Burleson played five games, in one season, in the state of Minnesota, or if his average per year exceeded the average of all running backs on the team combined. The Vikings played eight home games a year in Minneapolis, and at the time of the offer sheet, the team spent far less than $7 million per year for its entire running back corps. On the other hand, Seattle was spending over $7 million a year on just one of its running backs (Shaun Alexander). The Vikings had seven days to match the offer sheet but declined to do so. Minnesota received Seattle's third-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft; Seattle, however, received no compensation for the departure of Hutchinson.[10] On September 7, 2008, Burleson tore a ligament in his knee in Seattle's season opener against the Bills. He was put on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

Burleson owns the Seahawk team record for most punt return yards in a single season (2007) as well as career punt return yards.

Detroit Lions

During the early hours of the NFL free agency period on March 5, 2010, Burleson agreed to a five-year $25 million contract with the Detroit Lions.[11] Burleson reunited with his former offensive coordinator, Scott Linehan, with whom he had his best season of his career in 2004, when he caught 68 passes for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns while playing for the Vikings.[12] In 2011, Burleson was named recipient of the Detroit Lions-Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association/Pro Football Writers Association's Media-Friendly "Good Guy Award" for his interactions with the media in. On September 24, 2013, Burleson fractured his forearm in two places in an early morning, single-car accident.[13] It was reported that Burleson was attempting to save a pizza from falling off a seat in his car and lost control of his vehicle. He was cut from the Lions on February 13, 2014.[14]

Cleveland Browns

On April 6, 2014, Burleson signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns,[15] but was cut on August 30.[16]

NFL career statistics

Receiving statistics[17]

YearTeamGPRecTgtYdsAvgLngTDFDFumLost
2003MIN 16295745515.75221711
2004MIN 16681021,00614.86895000
2005MIN 12305232810.92012000
2006SEA 16183719210.7362900
2007SEA 16509669413.94593711
2008SEA 1596012.0201400
2009SEA 136310381212.94434222
2010DET 14558662511.45863222
2011DET 167311075710.44733611
2012DET 627432408.92621400
2013DET 9395546111.84712310
Career1354577505,63012.3683928487

Return stats[17]

YearTeamGPPRYdsTDFCLngKRYdsTDLng
2003MIN 16100000000
2004MIN 16252141991251029
2005MIN 1252100100000
2006SEA 1634322179026643050
2007SEA 1658658189427590191
2008SEA 135403210000
2009SEA 133025403291202
2010DET 14000001000
Career1041561,52333094571,286191

Broadcasting career

Burleson attended a Broadcast Boot Camp put on by the NFL in 2012. After his playing career ended in 2014, he began working as an analyst for the NFL Network. In 2015, Burleson was also a member of the Detroit Lions preseason broadcast team as a color commentator for the Detroit Lions Television Network.[18] In 2016, Good Morning Football debuted on NFL Network with Burleson, Kay Adams, Kyle Brandt, and Peter Schrager as co-hosts.[19] Burleson joined the NFL on CBS team as a studio analyst for The NFL Today for the 2017 season, while still serving as co-host of Good Morning Football.[20] He was later tapped to serve as color commentator for Nickelodeon's simulcast of a Wild Card game on CBS. The broadcast incorporated Nickelodeon elements into a live NFL game, including the use of animation and members of the All That cast joining Burleson on the announcing team.[21] Burleson also hosted the SpongeBob SportsPants Countdown Special preceding the game as a last-minute substitution for Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller.

Personal life

Burleson and his wife Atoya have two sons and a daughter.[6]

After his car accident, DiGiorno gave Burleson a year's supply of free pizza.[22]

Burleson rapped on multiple songs by Wizdom under the moniker "New Balance".[23] Nate Burleson works at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ as a WR coach.

See also

References
  1. "ESPN Profile". ESPN.com.
  2. Raley, Dan (September 13, 2006). "Burlesons are the first family of Seattle sports". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  3. Duff, Bob (October 18, 2010). "Lions' Burleson proud of Canadian roots". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  4. Fryer, Alex (June 21, 2007). "Rainier View remembered". Seattle Times. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  5. Spratt, Gerry (December 9, 2011). "Nate Burleson wants you to know where he went to elementary school". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  6. Seattle Seahawks Bio Archived February 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Nate Burleson - Nevada, WR : 2003 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFL Draft Scout. Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BurlNa00.htm
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Source: Receiver Nate Burleson agrees to 5-year, $25 million with $11 million guaranteed deal with Detroit Lions - ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  12. http://www.freep.com/article/20100304/SPORTS01/100305004/Lions-sign-WR-Nate-Burleson-to-five-year-deal
  13. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9715810/detroit-lions-wr-nate-burleson-breaks-arm-car-crash
  14. Rosenthal, Gregg (February 13, 2014). "Nate Burleson released by Detroit Lions". NFL.com. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  15. "Nate Burleson, Cleveland Browns strike one-year deal". NFL. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  16. "Nate Burleson cut by Cleveland Browns". ESPN.com. August 30, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  17. "Nate Burleson Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  18. "Burleson, Rubick, Shepard make up Lions Preseason broadcast team for Fox Sports Detroit". detroitlions.com. July 30, 2015. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  19. "Nate Burleson takes on-field passion to 'Good Morning Football'". NFL.com. September 26, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  20. "Nate Burleson to join 'The NFL Today' Sunday pregame show". NFL.com. May 8, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  21. "CBS to simulcast wild-card game on Nickelodeon". ESPN.com. December 15, 2020.
  22. https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/shutdown-corner/lions-receiver-nate-burleson-receives-free-digiorno-pizza-190720352--nfl.html
  23. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-book-of-wizdom/281475024
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