If he is not fired, I will leave the BC Lions head coach, as he has a misunderstanding with his player.
Bryan Burnham claims he has been lucky to play in the CFL for eight years, and even more so to have spent his whole career with one franchise.
He is simply not willing to give up his family for football any more.
Burnham made his retirement announcement on Tuesday. He had an outstanding career as a receiver with the BC Lions, earning four CFL all-star selections and reaching 1,000 yards in four straight seasons.
“It’s just crazy to think that you know this all started back in 2014 and just how much times have changed, how much the locker room has changed,” Burnham said by video conference from his Tulsa, Oklahoma, home.
And that I was still working for the B.C. Lions every day in 2022, sitting in that locker room. It is just such a privilege.
For him as well as his wife, though, this privilege had a cost.
There was a great deal of sacrifice and hard work involved, Burnham remarked. My wife made that sacrifice as well, not just myself.
We have reached a stage where I am no longer prepared to make that sacrifice.
According to Burnham, 32, he assumed that 2022 would be his final season. He suggested he might have given up a season earlier if the COVID-19 outbreak had not destroyed the 2020 campaign.
Burnham found great benefit from playing the extra season. Injury-related limitations kept him to nine games, including a fractured wrist he suffered in a Sept. 25 loss to Calgary, but he still managed 41 grabs for 596 yards and four touchdowns.
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With the Lions finishing their season 12-6 and making it to the West Division final, where they lost 28-20 to Winnipeg, he also got to cap off his career on a high note.
“I’m pleased with all this team has done this year,” Burnham declared. “We ended up being eight points away from qualifying to the Grey Cup, and we were picked to be dead last in the league, I believe.”
He saw Nathan Rourke, the prodigy quarterback, grow to prominence as well. In his first season as a starter, the Victoria native was outstanding, tossing for 3,349 yards in just 10 games due to a foot ailment. At 78.7%, Rourke established a CFL record for the highest completion percentage in a single season.
After the West final defeat by Winnipeg, Burnham told Rourke, “He gave this last season of my career meaning.”
Burnham stated of Rourke, “Can’t wait to to tell the kids when we’re watching him on Sundays soon that I’ve played with him.” Nathan is a terrific youngster, so absolutely, man.
With the Lions, Burnham amassed 7,212 receiving yards and 476 receptions. In the annals of the franchise, both marks rank fourth.
Of Lions receivers, his 43 touchdown receptions rank eighth all-time.
In 2019 Burnham achieved career highs with 1,492 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, making him a nominee for the league’s outstanding player award.
September 19, 2014, saw Burnham make his professional debut. The next season, he became a regular.
In 2016, he had a breakthrough year, amassing 1,392 yards—his first of four consecutive seasons to surpass 1,000 yards—and three scores.
Burnham claimed to be pursuing a master’s degree as he and his wife maintain three foster children back in Tulsa, which he claims presents unique difficulties.
Last night, he remarked, “I was fishing that out because the three-year-old stuck something up her nose.” At the end of the day, though, I lie down and feel good. Indeed, it has been fantastic.
