Nate Burleson
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Burleson is an American football
player, who currently plays wide receiver
for the Detroit Lions
of the National Football League
(NFL). Burleson played college football
for the University of Nevada
Wolf Pack
, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings
in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft
.
Burleson has also played for the Seattle Seahawks
. He is the son of former Canadian Football League
(CFL) and United States Football League
(USFL) player Alvin Burleson and the younger brother of former National Basketball Association
(NBA) player Kevin Burleson
.
. At the time his father, Alvin 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
, plays 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.
Burleson was an infant when the family relocated from Canada back to the United States. His father was signed by the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League
(USFL) for its inaugural 1983 season. However, he 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 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.
, 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
(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.
in 2003. 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.
. 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 back
s on the team combined. The Vikings play 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 will be reuniting 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.
After signing with the Lions, Burleson has given himself the nickname "Recepticon," keeping with the Transformers
-themed nickname "Megatron" established for fellow receiver Calvin Johnson
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, who currently plays wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
for the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). Burleson played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
Wolf Pack
Nevada Wolf Pack football
The Nevada Wolf Pack Football program represents the University of Nevada, Reno in college football. The Wolf Pack competes in the Western Athletic Conference at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of the NCAA...
, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...
.
Burleson has also played for the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. He is the son of former Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(CFL) and United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
(USFL) player Alvin Burleson and the younger brother of former National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) player Kevin Burleson
Kevin Burleson
Kevin Burleson is an American professional basketball player. He currently plays point guard for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League. He played college basketball for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and began his professional career in the German basketball league...
.
Early years
Burleson was born in Calgary, Alberta, CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. At the time his father, Alvin Burleson, was playing defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
for the Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(CFL). He was born into a prolific and tight-knit sporting family. His oldest brother, Alvin Jr., played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
Huskies
Washington Huskies
Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports and 10 women's sports Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The...
and the Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...
Leathernecks
Western Illinois Leathernecks
The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school's primary conference affiliation is with The Summit League; its football team is a member of the Division I FCS Missouri...
. Another older brother, Kevin
Kevin Burleson
Kevin Burleson is an American professional basketball player. He currently plays point guard for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League. He played college basketball for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and began his professional career in the German basketball league...
, plays professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and was formerly a point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
for the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA). His younger brother Lyndale played college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
for the University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
Wolf Pack
Nevada Wolf Pack
The Nevada Wolf Pack are the collegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Reno, consisting of 16 varsity teams. Though often known as UNR within the state, the university is simply called Nevada for athletics purposes; its sports teams are nicknamed the 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
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, 81, was his father's high school number.
Burleson was an infant when the family relocated from Canada back to the United States. His father was signed by the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
(USFL) for its inaugural 1983 season. However, he remains proud of his Canadian heritage, sporting a maple leaf
Maple leaf
The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree, and is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada.-Use in Canada:At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the settlements of New France had attained a population of about 18,000...
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
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, U.S., where he worked for Associated Grocers
Associated Grocers
Associated Grocers was a retailers' cooperative that distributed full lines of groceries and general merchandise. Founded in 1934, it also provided retail services to independent groceries in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam...
. Nate Burleson attended Lindbergh High School
Lindbergh Senior High School (Renton, Washington)
Lindbergh High School is a high school located in the southeastern section of Renton, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, in the Renton School District. Named after Charles A. Lindbergh, the famous aviator who was first to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1927, the school was founded in 1972....
in the suburb of Renton
Renton, Washington
Renton is an Eastside edge city in King County, Washington, United States. Situated 11 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington. Founded in the 1860s, Renton became a supply town for the Newcastle coal fields...
as a freshman, and then transferred to O'Dea High School
O'Dea High School
O'Dea High School is a Catholic boys' high school located on Seattle's First Hill, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle. The school is named after Edward John O'Dea who was bishop of Seattle when the school was built....
in Seattle, where he graduated. As a senior, he was named Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
City Athlete of the Year.
College career
Burleson hoped to attend the University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, his father's alma mater, but was not offered a football scholarship. Instead he accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Nevada, Reno
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
and played for the Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada Wolf Pack football
The Nevada Wolf Pack Football program represents the University of Nevada, Reno in college football. The Wolf Pack competes in the Western Athletic Conference at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of the NCAA...
. 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
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
by the American Football Coaches Association
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association is an association of over 11,000 football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "maintain the highest possible standards in football and the profession of...
, All-WAC by the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
(WAC), and team MVP, and was named second-team All-America by The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
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.
Minnesota Vikings
Burleson was drafted by the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in 2003. 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
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
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 SeahawksSeattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. 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
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, or if his average per year exceeded the average of all running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
s on the team combined. The Vikings play 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
Shaun Alexander
Shaun Edward Alexander is a former American football running back who played for the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins. He was drafted by the Seahawks 19th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Alabama.- Early career :Alexander was born and...
). 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
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...
; 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.
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 LionsDetroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. Burleson will be reuniting with his former offensive coordinator, Scott Linehan
Scott Linehan
Scott Thomas Linehan is an American football coach, currently the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions of the NFL. He was previously the head coach of the St...
, 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.
Personal
Burleson is married to his wife Atoya. They have two sons.After signing with the Lions, Burleson has given himself the nickname "Recepticon," keeping with the Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
-themed nickname "Megatron" established for fellow receiver Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson (American football)
Calvin Johnson, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Lions second overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech....
.