At age six, he began playing soccer in local recreation leagues, but never joined a club team.

[6] He scored his first goal for the club on June 6, giving the Revolution a 78th minute lead against the LA Galaxy in front of 20,236 fans at Foxboro Stadium.

[6] In 1998 New England Revolution season, Burns earned a place in the MLS All-Star game.

[6] In May 1998, Burns and teammate Joe-Max Moore were named to the US 1998 FIFA World Cup squad.

On May 30, 2000, the Revolution traded Burns, Dan Calichman, and a first round draft pick in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft to the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for Mauricio Wright.

However, he did not remain with the team and he was traded in March 2001 to the Kansas City Wizards in return for conditional picks in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft.

[citation needed] On April 10, 2005, Burns was named as the New England Revolution's Director of Soccer.