Burnham retires after eight years

Bryan Burnham has some of the best hands the CFL has ever seen.

He has amassed 7,212 yards receiving (fourth all-time in B.C. Lions history) and 476 career catches (also fourth all-time in club history), including one in each of the 105 CFL games he's played.

So what are those magnificently dexterous and sticky hands doing these days?

“Last night, three-year-old stuck something up her nose, so I was fishing that out,” he said, laughing. “It comes with its own set of challenges, but man, it's something that I lay down at the end of the day and I'm happy.”

On Tuesday, Burnham made official what many had thought would happen. He was retiring from football.

There were questions all season as to whether 2022 would be the last of his eight years in the CFL — mostly because the 32-year-old deflected, dodged and denied it every time he was asked — but a few knew the truth. Before this season even began, Burnham had decided it would be his final campaign, and shared it only with his teammates in the receivers' room.

The mental and emotional toll the past few seasons took on Burnham was something kept private until he shared it on Instagram in 2021. A miscarriage after months and months of fertility treatments shattered him, not only for the loss of his baby, but being so far removed from being able to care for his wife, Aubrey.

He and his wife had decided that this year would be his last, regardless of the outcome. They finally had children, but not the way they had originally thought. They're now foster parents to three siblings at home in Tulsa, Okla., ages two, three and five.

Being away from Aubrey in any season was hard. Being away from family, well, that was impossible.

“To finally kind of have that family now ... that's priority No. 1,” said Burnham. “For me to be in another country ... 1,000 miles away, it's just not something that I could do any more.

“Not everybody is fortunate enough to be able to play for eight seasons — and not just that, but eight seasons for one team. A lot of hard work went into it and a lot of sacrifice. And that sacrifice wasn't just made by me, but it was made by my wife as well. And we are at a point now where I'm not willing to make that sacrifice anymore. I'm ready to live my life with my wife and these amazing children that we have right now and it's time to move on.”

The keen observers would have noticed during the season how Burnham lingered a little longer on the field, smiled a little wider, even stayed incredibly upbeat and positive when tweeting from a hospital bed with a collapsed lung.

But even the most unaware caught the emotions on display post-game after the Lions lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Division final.

Slow walks, hugs with T.J. Lee — the only Lion who had been with the team as long as him — and finally, a tearful embrace with quarterback Nathan Rourke. It was at that moment, Burnham said, that he told the young quarterback that this was his last game. Their embrace was immortalized in an emotional photo.

“I told him that he gave this last season of my career meaning and that he was an inspiration to me. I think that's kind of where all the emotion came from,” he said. “Obviously we were upset that we lost the game, but in that moment, when it was all said and done and official, he felt disappointed. He felt like he had let me down. He told me that he wanted to send me out a champion. But I just told him he's got nothing to be sorry for ... I can't wait to tell the kids when we're watching him on Sundays soon that I played with that guy.”

Rourke, who may have played his final CFL game as well, since he's on a workout tour with several NFL teams including the Raiders, Colts and the Broncos, was equally complimentary.

“Bryan is a world-class player, teammate, and friend,” Rourke said by text message. “He treated everyone the same. Vets, rookies, staff and coaches, he made you feel like you belonged. He led with his gracious attitude, his tireless work ethic and his desire for excellence, whether it was on the practice field or in the West final.

“Despite what he endured off the field, Bryan never let it affect the way he approached each day and has set the ultimate example of what it means to be a professional. I am so grateful to be able to have played with a player such as him, although brief, he truly has made an impact on me and my career.”

It was teammates like Rourke and his receiving corps who lured Burnham back for one more season. The news conference announcing his one-year deal saw offensive lineman Andrew Pierson squeeze into Burnham's jersey and pop onto Zoom from the Lions' locker-room while Burnham watched, and laughed, from Tulsa. There was a bond, a fraternity, who helped Burnham hold it together in 2020 and hold it down on the field in 2021.

His future isn't clear beyond getting a few grey hairs as a parent. He's not planning on coaching or getting back on that football schedule, and is working toward his masters in business management. He still feels he's physically capable of being one of the top receivers in the game, but it's time for another Lion to slide into that role.

“They say to leave a room better than you found it. I truly believe that,” he said. “I'm leaving it in pretty good hands. There's a lot of great guys in that room and a lot of great guys I'm going to miss. That's going to be the hardest part for me: the people ... I'm not going to miss the game too much. But I'm going to miss the people. I've truly made some friends for life and I'm ready to live my life full time with my family here in Tulsa. But the B.C. Lions are my family as well, so it's hard to leave them behind.”