Pat McAfee was born to Tim and Sally McAfee in Plum, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

McAfee attended West Virginia University, where he played as a placekicker for the West Virginia Mountaineers. During his senior year, he set several records, including becoming the school record holder for all-time scoring and achieving a career-best 44.7 yards per punt average.

McAfee was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft. He played in Super Bowl XLIV in his rookie year, where the Colts lost against the New Orleans Saints.

McAfee was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September 2014. He led the NFL in punting average (45.6 yards) and touchbacks on kickoff (24), and converted the NFL's only two successful onside kicks in the first four weeks of the season.

After eight seasons, McAfee retired from the NFL, citing his recent knee operation and a fractured relationship with Colts' general manager Ryan Grigson as factors in his decision.

McAfee began appearing on WWE programming as a pre-show analyst for NXT TakeOver events. He later signed a multi-year contract with WWE in February 2019.

McAfee joined ESPN as the color analyst for their Thursday Night College Football broadcasts. He also began making regular appearances on Get Up and College GameDay.

McAfee made his WWE NXT in-ring debut at TakeOver XXX, where he lost to Adam Cole. He was part of a storyline involving his stable, The Kings of NXT.

McAfee was moved to the SmackDown brand, serving as a color commentator alongside Michael Cole.

McAfee defeated Theory at WrestleMania 38, then challenged Vince McMahon to an impromptu match, which he lost. He was later attacked by Theory and McMahon until Stone Cold Steve Austin intervened.

McAfee returned to ESPN as a full-time analyst on College GameDay. He also became part of Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions college football alternate telecasts on ESPN2.

ESPN announced that The Pat McAfee Show would move to its platforms, including ESPN television, ESPN+, and YouTube, under a multi-year deal.

McAfee returned to WWE to call Saturday Night's Main Event with Michael Cole and Jesse Ventura, and later partnered with Cole again for commentary on Raw on Netflix in 2025.