.png) Burleson in 2025 | |||||||||||||
| No. 14, 81, 13 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver /Return specialist | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1981-08-19)August 19, 1981 (age 44) Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 198 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | O'Dea(Seattle, Washington, U.S.) | ||||||||||||
| College | Nevada (1999–2002) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2003: 3rd round, 71st overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Nathaniel Eugene Burleson (born August 19, 1981) is a Canadian-American television host,football commentator, and former football player. He played professionally as awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL). Playingcollege football for theNevada Wolf Pack, he earned first-teamAll-American honors in 2002. Burleson was selected by theMinnesota Vikings in the third round of the2003 NFL draft. He was also a member of theSeattle Seahawks andDetroit Lions.
Burleson is now atParamount (formerly ViacomCBS), co-hostingCBS Mornings and covering football for CBS on itsThe NFL Today program, as well as onNickelodeon. He previously co-hostedGood Morning Football onNFL Network, along with being a New York correspondent for theentertainment news programExtra from 2019 to 2021. He has been featured on several rap songs under the nameNew Balance.
On June 11, 2024, it was announced that Burleson would host a revival of the classic game showHollywood Squares, which premiered on January 16, 2025.[1]
Burleson, who is ofAfrican Canadian heritage, was born inCalgary, Alberta, Canada. At the time his father,Al Burleson, was playingdefensive back for theCalgary Stampeders of theCanadian Football League (CFL). His oldest brother, Alvin Jr., playedcollege football for theUniversity of WashingtonHuskies and theWestern Illinois UniversityLeathernecks. Another older brother,Kevin played professionalbasketball and was formerly apoint guard for theCharlotte Bobcats of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). His younger brother Lyndale playedcollege basketball for theUniversity of NevadaWolf 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 theSeattle Seahawks, 81, was his father's high school number.[2]
In 1983, his father signed with theLos Angeles Express of theUnited States Football League (USFL), moving the family back to the United States. However, Burleson remains proud of his Canadian citizenship, sporting amaple 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 ofSeattle, Washington, U.S., where he worked forAssociated Grocers.[2] Nate Burleson attended Rainier View Elementary School in Seattle.[4][5] He attendedLindbergh High School in the suburb ofRenton as a freshman, and then transferred toO'Dea High School in Seattle, where he graduated. As a senior, he was namedSeattle Times City Athlete of the Year.[6]
Burleson was also on the school'strack and field team, competing as a sprinter and hurdler. He won the state title in the300-meter hurdles with a time of 38.70 seconds in 1999, and finished eighth in110-meter hurdles as junior.[7]
Burleson hoped to attend theUniversity of Washington in Seattle, his father's alma mater, but was not offered a football scholarship. Instead he accepted a scholarship offer from theUniversity of Nevada inReno and played for theWolf Pack, then in theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC). In his senior season in2002, he made 138 receptions, the second highest inNCAA history,[2] 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-teamAll-America by theAmerican Football Coaches Association, all-conference (WAC), team MVP, and was named second-team All-America byThe Sporting News andCNN/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]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft0+1⁄2 in (1.84 m) | 197 lb (89 kg) | 31+1⁄8 in (0.79 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.51 s | 1.58 s | 2.65 s | 4.16 s | 6.96 s | 42.5 in (1.08 m) | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[8] | ||||||||||||
Burleson was selected in the third round of the2003 NFL draft by theMinnesota Vikings, the 71st overall pick.[9] Despite showing promise, Burleson did not put up strong numbers during his rookie season. In his second season,2004, an injury to fellow receiverRandy 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.[10]
On March 24,2006, Burleson signed a seven-year $49 million offer sheet to play with his hometownSeattle Seahawks. In retribution for the Vikings signing an offer sheet with former Seahawks guardSteve 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 ofMinnesota, or if his average per year exceeded the average of allrunning 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 the2006 NFL draft; Seattle, however, received no compensation for the departure of Hutchinson.[11] 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 theDetroit Lions.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]
On April 6, 2014, Burleson signed a one-year deal with theCleveland Browns,[16] but was cut on August 30.[17]
Receiving statistics[18]
| Year | Team | GP | Rec | Tgt | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | MIN | 16 | 29 | 57 | 455 | 15.7 | 52 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 2004 | MIN | 16 | 68 | 102 | 1,006 | 14.8 | 68 | 9 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | MIN | 12 | 30 | 52 | 328 | 10.9 | 20 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | SEA | 16 | 18 | 37 | 192 | 10.7 | 36 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | SEA | 16 | 50 | 96 | 694 | 13.9 | 45 | 9 | 37 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 | SEA | 1 | 5 | 9 | 60 | 12.0 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | SEA | 13 | 63 | 103 | 812 | 12.9 | 44 | 3 | 42 | 2 | 2 |
| 2010 | DET | 14 | 55 | 86 | 625 | 11.4 | 58 | 6 | 32 | 2 | 2 |
| 2011 | DET | 16 | 73 | 110 | 757 | 10.4 | 47 | 3 | 36 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | DET | 6 | 27 | 43 | 240 | 8.9 | 26 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | DET | 9 | 39 | 55 | 461 | 11.8 | 47 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 135 | 457 | 750 | 5,630 | 12.3 | 68 | 39 | 284 | 8 | 7 | |
Return stats[18]
| Year | Team | GP | PR | Yds | TD | FC | Lng | KR | Yds | TD | Lng |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | MIN | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | MIN | 16 | 25 | 214 | 1 | 9 | 91 | 2 | 51 | 0 | 29 |
| 2005 | MIN | 12 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | SEA | 16 | 34 | 322 | 1 | 7 | 90 | 26 | 643 | 0 | 50 |
| 2007 | SEA | 16 | 58 | 658 | 1 | 8 | 94 | 27 | 590 | 1 | 91 |
| 2008 | SEA | 1 | 3 | 54 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | SEA | 13 | 30 | 254 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 | DET | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 104 | 156 | 1,523 | 3 | 30 | 94 | 57 | 1,286 | 1 | 91 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2004 | MIN | 2 | 2 | 8 | 110 | 13.8 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | SEA | 2 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | SEA | 2 | 1 | 10 | 97 | 9.7 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | DET | 1 | 1 | 4 | 50 | 12.5 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 7 | 4 | 23 | 273 | 11.9 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
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 theNFL Network. In 2015, Burleson was also a member of theDetroit Lions preseason broadcast team as acolor commentator for theDetroit Lions Television Network.[19] In 2016,Good Morning Football debuted on NFL Network with Burleson,Kay Adams,Kyle Brandt, andPeter Schrager as co-hosts.[20] Burleson joined theNFL on CBS team as a studio analyst forThe NFL Today for the 2017 season, while still serving as co-host ofGood Morning Football.[21] He is a two-timeSports Emmy Award winner forOutstanding Studio Analyst (2021 and 2022). Burleson made headlines after his pregame predictions forSuper Bowl LVII, in which he predicted the correct final score with theKansas City Chiefs defeating thePhiladelphia Eagles 38–35; in addition to accurately pickingPatrick Mahomes as the game's MVP.[22]
Burleson expanded his work with CBS and its sister properties in 2021, first as the color commentator for the NFL Wild Card game airing onNickelodeon then as host for thefirst season ofThe Challenge: All Stars reunion show onParamount+.[23][24] By August, CBS had named Burleson a co-anchor forCBS Mornings, a retooling ofCBS This Morning, alongsideGayle King andTony Dokoupil.[25] He also continued with Nickelodeon as a host of its new weekly highlights showNFL Slimetime and reteamed withNoah Eagle and Gabrielle Nevaeh Green on the network's 2022 Wild Card broadcast.[26][27] The trio also called Nickelodeon's Christmas Day broadcast later in the year. The network later announced that Burleson would co-host the2023 Kids' Choice Awards with social media superstarCharli D'Amelio.[28]
During an interview on CBS Mornings a day after theassassination of Charlie Kirk, Burleson asked former Republican House SpeakerKevin McCarthy if it was "a moment for your party to reflect on political violence" and "for us to think about the responsibility of our political leaders and their voices and what it does to the masses as they get lost in misinformation or disinformation that turns in and spills in to political violence?"[29] The timing and tone of Burleson's question to McCarthy led to criticism of him by some members of the conservative media, most notablyMegyn Kelly.[30]
Burleson and his wife Atoya have two sons, Nathaniel and Nehemiah, and a daughter, Mia, who appears onNFL Slimetime as a contributor.[6][31]
Burleson rapped on multiple songs byWizdom under the moniker "New Balance".[32]
Burelson was a central figure in the 2005 Minnesota Love Boat Scandal.[33]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by John "DC Young Fly" Whitfield 2023 Celebrity Squares | Host ofHollywood Squares 2025 | Succeeded by Incumbent |