Former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson once believed that to succeed in sports broadcasting, he had to imitate the greats. Early in his career, he found himself trying to copy legends like Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk, and Michael Irvin, adjusting his style to match theirs.
However, after weeks of trying different approaches, he realized none of them felt natural. So, finally he chose to be authentic.
Nate Burleson Explains How He Stopped Imitating Legends and Became His True Self on TV
Speaking on the Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast, wide receiver turned television host and football analyst Nate Burleson shared his raw and honest journey to finding authenticity in sports media.
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At first, Burleson believed he had to act like the legends to make it in broadcasting. He tried to mimic the styles of Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk, and Michael Irvin. He experimented with different tones—polished, flashy, and even overly intellectual. But none of it felt right to him.
“And I was a copycat,” Burleson admitted. “I remember I was like, ‘All right, I’mma come in and I’m act like Earth.’ So I come with a grammar voice and I’m, you know, listen, man. Here’s the thing—Calvin Johnson was a beast. And then after the show, I’m like, nah, that wasn’t me.”
He kept trying new styles. He went flashy, inspired by his time with Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle. Then he tried the smart, thoughtful approach like Marshall Faulk. But again, it didn’t click. It felt forced, like he was playing someone else’s role.
After weeks of pretending, something finally hit him: “There’s no better version of myself that I can be than Nate Burleson.” He added, “Like, they don’t need another Marshall Faulk or Deion Sanders or Michael Irvin. Yeah. They need the best version of Nate. And at that point, there’s this self-reflection. Who am I?”
That’s when everything changed. Burleson stopped copying others and started owning his identity. He admitted that he wasn’t a Hall of Famer or a Super Bowl champion. But he was a former wide receiver, a poet, a pop culture lover, and a natural storyteller.
Once he embraced who he truly was, things started to fall into place and people connected with him.
“And that’s when people started to identify, because instead of trying to be everything that I’m not, the average dude at home sitting on the couch or the average woman watching was like, ‘Oh, I identify with that character trait of Nate,” he said.
In this conversation, Burleson reminded us of a powerful truth: in any industry, imitation won’t bring you real success. It comes from knowing who you are—and being brave enough to own it. Once he found his lane, Burleson decided to drive the hell out of it.
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In this discussion, he shared an important lesson: no matter what industry you’re in, imitation won’t lead to success. True success only comes from embracing who you are. Once Burleson found his lane, he decided to drive the hell out of it.
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