Background and career
Nathaniel Eugene Burleson (born August 19, 1981) is a Canadian-American television host, football commentator, and former football player. He played professionally as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Playing college football for the Nevada Wolf Pack, he earned first-team All-American honors in 2002. Burleson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. Burleson is now at Paramount Skydance, co-hosting CBS Mornings and March Madness coverage, hosting a revival of the classic game show Hollywood Squares, and serving as an analyst for The NFL Today for CBS, as well as covering football for Nickelodeon by hosting NFL Slimetime with Dylan Gilmer and serving as a commentator for the network’s NFL broadcasts. He previously co-hosted Good Morning Football on NFL Network, along with being a New York correspondent for the entertainment news program Extra from 2019 to 2021. He has been featured on several rap songs under the name New Balance.
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). 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. 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, 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 citizenship, 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.
Burleson hoped to attend the University of Washington in Seattle, his father's alma mater, but was not offered a football scholarship. Instead he accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Nevada in Reno and played for the Wolf Pack, then in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). In his senior season in 2002, he made 138 receptions, the second highest in NCAA history, and led the NCAA in both receiving yards and in receptions per game. At Nevada, Burleson had 248 receptions for 3,293 yards with 22 touchdowns; he was named first-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association, all-conference (WAC), 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.
Burleson was selected in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings, the 71st overall pick. Despite showing promise, Burleson did not put up strong numbers during his rookie season. In his second season, 2004, an injury to fellow receiver Randy Moss opened up opportunity for Burleson as he became the team's number one receiver. Burleson put up strong numbers, reaching over 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career. Not only a good receiver, but also a standout special teams player, Burleson is the only player in NFL history to have three punt returns of 90 or more yards.
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. 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.
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. On September 24, 2013, Burleson fractured his forearm in two places in an early morning, single-car crash. 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.
