Burley was selected by the Bengals in the third round (55th overall) of the 1975 NFL draft. He was named to the 1976 NFL All-Rookie Team. He played in Super Bowl XVI in 1982, with the Bengals losing 26–21 to the San Francisco 49ers. In 8 seasons with Cincinnati, he played in 117 games, started 67, including all but 3 games his first 4 seasons.[6]
His 9th and final NFL season was with the Atlanta Falcons, playing 12 games, starting 8.[6]
After football
In 2006, Burley founded the Pro Start Academy, a Birmingham, Alabama-based organization that "mentors young athletes and provides tips on how they can achieve success on and off the football field".[7]
Personal life
Between 2011 and 2015, Burley survived life-threatening ailments including cancer, a bone marrow transplant, the loss of a kidney[8]—after 3 years of dialysis he received a kidney transplant and became an advocate for organ donations[9]—and a bout of salmonella poisoning in his knee that put him in a wheelchair for six months. His wife is Bobbie Knight, a longtime Alabama Power executive and the president of Miles College.[10][11] They reside in Birmingham, Alabama.[12]
He hosts the Gary Burley Charity Golf Tournament at Greystone Country Club to benefit cancer research.[12]