Burkhardt was formerly a reporter with SportsNet New York (SNY) during New York Mets telecasts from 2007 to 2014. He also called select Mets games during both spring training and the regular season during that time. He has been the primary studio host for Major League Baseball (MLB) telecasts on Fox and FS1 since the 2014 season. He also hosts the "Reunion" episodes of the History Channel's reality series Alone.
Burkhardt was born on March 2, 1974.[1] He was raised in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Growing up, he was a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles.[2] He chose to be an Eagles fan because his favorite NFL Huddle, a stuffed animal mascot sold in Sears Catalog, was one of the Philadelphia Eagles.[2] His favorite player growing up was Ron Jaworski.[2]
Burkhardt began his career at the radio station WGHT[5] in Northern New Jersey, spending eight years working for the station, covering events including high school football.
After working at WGHT, Burkhardt got a part-time job working at WFAN, doing freelance work and eventually becoming the station's full-time New York Jets reporter.[3][7][8]
[edit]Burkhardt (left) interviewing R. A. Dickey for SNY in 2012
Burkhardt joined the Mets broadcast team at the beginning of the 2007 season,[7] replacing Chris Cotter. Burkhardt interviewed for the SNY job but never thought he would be hired.[3] On SNY he appeared on shows such as Mets Hot Stove, Mets Pre-Game Live, Mets Post-Game Live, and Mets Year in Review. Burkhardt left SNY at the end of the 2014 season for a full-time job at Fox.
Despite his role with the Mets, Burkhardt wanted to call football games and was offered the ability to do so through the Compass Radio Network.[2] There he called the 2009 Texas Bowl.[2] At Compass Radio Network, he called other college football games, as well.[2]
Burkhardt was also the play-by-play voice for Dallas Cowboys games on Compass Radio Networks from the inauguration of its America's Team Radio Network in 2011 until 2013, when he joined the NFL on Fox and was replaced by Kevin Ray.[9][2] His color commentator on the broadcasts was Danny White.[10]
After Joe Buck left Fox for ESPN in 2022, Burkhardt was promoted to the lead NFL on Fox broadcast team alongside Greg Olsen as color commentator (until Tom Brady joins Fox's lead broadcast team in 2024).[13] Burkhardt was the television play-by-play announcer for Super Bowl LVII.[14][15] With his call, he became the first play-by-play announcer other than Jim Nantz, Joe BuckorAl Michaels to call a Super Bowl since 2004.[2]
He was praised for his work in his first season as Fox's lead broadcaster and during his call of Super Bowl LVII.[16] Throughout the season, critics commended Burkhardt for striking a good level of excitement when necessary and for keeping games exciting.[16][2] In Super Bowl LVII, he was praised for providing important information such as stating that despite the touchdown call by Eagle's running back Kenneth Gainwell being overturned, Gainwell still managed to pickup the necessary yardage for a first and goal.[16]
^Shuster, Rachel (March 4, 2014). "The Next Generation". The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 6B. Kevin Burkhardt, 40: The former college catcher is a play-by-play announcer for select MLB games on TBS.
