kevin burkhardt

Kevin Burkhardt was born on March 2, 1974, in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He developed an early interest in sports broadcasting, even doing play-by-play for Nintendo games in middle school and idolizing sportscasters like Gary Cohen. Burkhardt graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1992 and earned a degree in broadcasting from William Paterson University in 1997. His early career began at the radio station WGHT in Northern New Jersey, where he spent eight years covering local high school football. He also worked for Jukebox Radio broadcasting New Jersey Jackals minor league games. Facing challenges in advancing his broadcasting career, Burkhardt at one point worked as a car salesman. He later secured a part-time role at WFAN, gradually transitioning to full-time as the New York Jets reporter, and contributed to other sports reports for CN8, Time Warner Cable, and WCBS 880.

Burkhardt’s career gained significant momentum when he joined SportsNet New York (SNY) in 2007 as a reporter for New York Mets telecasts. During his tenure at SNY, which lasted until 2014, he frequently appeared on shows such as “Mets Hot Stove,” “Mets Pre-Game Live,” “Mets Post-Game Live,” and “Mets Year in Review.” Concurrently, driven by a desire to call football games, he expanded his reach by working with the Compass Radio Network. There, he called college football games, including the 2009 Texas Bowl, and served as the play-by-play voice for Dallas Cowboys games from 2011 to 2013 on the America’s Team Radio Network.

In 2013, Burkhardt joined Fox Sports, initially working on “NFL on Fox” alongside John Lynch and Erin Andrews. He also undertook fill-in work for “Major League Baseball on Fox.” By 2014, his role at Fox had expanded significantly, becoming the primary studio host for MLB coverage on Fox and Fox Sports 1. A major career turning point occurred in 2022 when he was promoted to the lead play-by-play announcer for “NFL on Fox,” succeeding Joe Buck. In this role, he partnered with Greg Olsen and notably served as the television play-by-play announcer for Super Bowl LVII in 2023. His performance during Super Bowl LVII garnered praise for his professional and engaging commentary.