Kevin Burkhardt, Joe Buck's Reported Replacement, Has A Wayne Connection

WAYNE, NJ — Kevin Burkhardt has covered the World Series, NFL matches and even Major League Baseball's Field of Dreams game. The broadcaster has also spent quite a bit of time in Wayne.

Burkhardt graduated from William Paterson University in 1997. He's continued to ascend in sportscasting since and will become Fox's No. 1 voice on NFL broadcasts next season, according to the New York Post.

The New Jersey native has been Fox's World Series host and its No. 2 NFL play-by-play broadcaster. But Fox's top NFL play caller, Joe Buck, left Fox to join colleague Troy Aikman on ESPN's Monday Night Football.

Fox and Burkhardt are finalizing a longterm contract, which will make him Fox's top NFL voice and the play-by-play for the network's Super Bowls, sources told the Post.

Burkhardt, 48, grew up in Bloomfield and graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1992. After getting a broadcasting at William Paterson, Burkhardt spent eight years at WGHT — based in Pompton Lakes — covering events including high school football games.

Early in Burkhardt's career, he worked as a sales associate at Pine Belt Chevrolet in Eatontown while also freelancing, according to Sports Illustrated. But in 2003, he decided to give his sportscasting dreams one last shot. He took a gig at WCBS-AM in New York City, working part-time shifts on sports updates.

Following work at the car dealership, Burkhardt landed a job with New York sports radio station WFAN. Since then, he's moved through the ranks of sports broadcasting and even appeared as a celebrity endorser for Pine Belt Chevrolet.

Burkhardt and his family now live in Los Angeles, but they maintain New Jersey connections. In 2019, Burkhardt and his wife established the Kevin and Rachel Burkhardt Scholarship at William Paterson — Rachel attended the university, as well. The scholarship supports a full-time student majoring in communications and preparing for a career in broadcast journalism.

Thanks for reading. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter and follow the Wayne Patch Facebook Page.