Paul Burmeister gets plum TV assignment Sunday

Paul Burmeister faces a far-bigger audience Sunday night than he ever played before as Iowa's quarterback in the early 1990s.

The 44-year-old sIowa City native, who has already built a long body of work in sportscasting, adds to his resume Sunday when he is the sideline reporter for NBC's telecast of the NFL/Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

Michele Tafoya is the regular sideline reporter for NBC's 'Sunday Night Football,” but she is in Russia covering swimming's World Championships. So this spring, Burmeister got tabbed to work at the Minnesota-Pittsburgh game in Canton.

'Nobody does live NFL games as well as (producer) Fred Gaudelli and Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya,” Burmeister said by phone Thursday. 'It's the number one team in the number one sport.

'I was surprised, and I'm extremely happy for the opportunity. I couldn't be more excited for it.”

It will mean plenty of airtime for Burmeister. He will interview several of this year's Hall of Fame inductees during the game, and also will talk to veteran players of the Vikings and Steelers once they're done playing for the night.

'Since the game itself doesn't have the significance of a regular-season game,” Burmeister said, 'I'll get to ask some follow-up questions and have interaction, be able to engage the person.”

Burmeister joined NBC Sports Group in 2011 after a decade with NFL Network. His broadcasting career began at KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, and he worked for three years at KWWL-TV in Waterloo.

He enters another season hosting 'Pro Football Talk” on NBC Sports Network. The season-debut is Aug. 10.

Also, he will do play-by-play for the Kansas City Chiefs' preseason games for the fourth-straight year after spending five seasons doing likewise for the Jacksonville Jaguars.