[1] Burkett accepted a scholarship from Auburn University, where he was a two-way player, playing center and linebacker, while also calling the defensive signals.
Burkett became one of the original members of the New Orleans Saints, after being selected in the 1967 NFL Expansion Draft and playing in 14 regular season games as a backup outside linebacker.
[5] In 1968, after trading top linebacker backup Harold Hays, the Dallas Cowboys acquired Burkett and Dave Simmons for depth purposes.
On June 23, 1970, he was traded to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for safety Dave Whitsell and rookie running back Tom Broadhead.
On November 8 against the Detroit Lions, he became a part of league history, when he snapped the ball that Tom Dempsey kicked on the final play of a 19–17 win, for a then NFL record 63-yard field goal.
He also worked as a sales manager for a pipe business and as the marketing vice president with the engineering firm Post, Buckley, Schuh and Jernigan, that designed bridges and roads.