Nate Burleson


Nathaniel Eugene Burleson is an American football commentator and former wide receiver. He played college football for the Nevada Wolf Pack and was drafted into the National Football League 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.

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. 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. His younger brother Lyndale played college basketball for the University of Nevada Wolf Pack. 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. 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.
In 1983, when Burleson was an infant, his father signed with the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League, 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. 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. Nate Burleson attended Rainier View Elementary School in Seattle. 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.
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.

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. 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, 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.

Professional career

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.

Seattle Seahawks

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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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.

Cleveland Browns

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

NFL statistics

Receiving statistics
YearTeamGRecTgtYdsAvgLongTDFDFmbFmb lost
2003MIN16295745515.75221711
2004MIN16681021,00614.86895000
2005MIN12305232810.92012000
2006SEA16183719210.7362900
2007SEA16509669413.94593711
2008SEA1596012.0201400
2009SEA136310381212.94434222
2010DET14558662511.45863222
2011DET167311075710.44733611
2012DET627432408.92621400
2013DET9395546111.84712310
Career1354577505,63012.3683928487

Return stats
YearTeamGPR attPR ydsPR TDFCPR longKR attKR ydsKR TDKR long
2003MIN16100000000
2004MIN16252141991251029
2005MIN1252100100000
2006SEA1634322179026643050
2007SEA1658658189427590191
2008SEA135403210000
2009SEA133025403291202
2010DET14000001000
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. In 2016, Good Morning Football debuted on NFL Network with Burleson, Kay Adams, Kyle Brandt, and Peter Schrager as co-hosts. 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.

Personal life

Burleson and his wife Atoya have two sons and a daughter.
After his car accident, DiGiorno gave Burleson a year's supply of free pizza.
Burleson rapped on a song by Wizdom featuring the Wu Tang Clan, "Put in Work."