Professional career
McAfee was invited to the 2009 Senior Bowl in Alabama, joining Mountaineers Pat White and Ellis Lankster. He started the Senior Bowl as the South team's kicker. McAfee performed in the 11th annual State Farm College Football All-Star Challenge, winning the "round the world" kicking competition. He was not invited to the NFL Combine. He had team workouts as a kicker with the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.
McAfee was selected in the seventh round with the 222nd overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts. McAfee was signed before training camp. He handled punting and kick-off duties for the Colts in 2009, as well as holding for extra points and field goals, a position he had never played before. In 2009, McAfee was part of the Indianapolis team that won the AFC South, the AFC Championship, and reached Super Bowl XLIV. McAfee kicked off the game and handled kickoff and punt duties in the 31–17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. As a result of a successful 2009 season, he was named to the 2009 NFL All-Rookie Team.
McAfee maintained a 46.6-yard punting average for the 2011 season, a mark he would better the following season by posting a 48.2-yard average on punts.
On January 4, 2014, McAfee tweeted a photo from the Colts locker room with teammate Andrew Luck almost completely nude in the background. McAfee, who was taking a picture of kicker Adam Vinatieri being interviewed in the locker room, apologized for the incident and was fined $10,000 by the Colts organization, according to his interview with The Bob & Tom Show. On March 7, McAfee announced he had signed a five-year contract to remain with the Colts.
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. In Week 6, against the Houston Texans, McAfee converted his third onside kick of the season, recovering the ball himself after it traveled the necessary 10 yards. On December 23, 2014, McAfee was selected to play in his first Pro Bowl, and on January 2, 2015, he was selected by the Associated Press as the First Team All-Pro punter.
In Week 3 of the 2015 season, McAfee earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week against the Tennessee Titans. During this season he nearly entered a game as emergency quarterback after all three of the team's three listed quarterbacks on the team came down with injuries; however, he never officially took the field. McAfee held the role of emergency quarterback at the Colts throughout his tenure with the team, and was one of only four punters in the NFL to hold the role near the end of his career. He was also called on to throw the football during special plays involving a fake punt. On December 20, 2016, McAfee was named to his second Pro Bowl.
Despite being a punter, McAfee had several notable tackles in his career, including a hit on Trindon Holliday in Week 7 of the 2013 season, about which television commentator Cris Collinsworth said "Pat McAfee is going to be legend among kickers everywhere." He ended his career with 21 solo tackles, the third most for a punter in NFL history.
On February 2, 2017, after eight seasons, McAfee retired from the NFL and stated he intended to join Barstool Sports as a contributor. He cited his recent knee operation (his third in four seasons) as a factor in his decision, as well as his fractured relationship with Colts' general manager Ryan Grigson. During the off-season in 2019, McAfee worked out with the Chicago Bears as a placekicker, but his knee swelled up soon afterwards, and the position was eventually taken by Eddy Piñeiro.
During the 2020 NFL season, despite being out of the NFL for four years, fans began making a push for McAfee to come out of retirement to play for his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, who struggled with their punting during the season. McAfee himself added to the rumors by immediately tweeting a video of him punting after the Steelers released Dustin Colquitt without immediately signing a replacement. The team ended up re-signing Jordan Berry, who had been the team's punter for five years prior to the signing of Colquitt. On the September 16, 2021 episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke of his admiration for him, joking that he would wait until McAfee "had physically deteriorated a little bit", until he could sign him. However, McAfee could have potentially played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as both a placekicker and punter, after the Buccaneers put their special teams unit on the reserve/COVID-19 list before their game against the Atlanta Falcons. Ultimately, McAfee was unable to bypass certain protocols because he had tested positive for COVID-19, while Ryan Succop and Bradley Pinion ended up being cleared to play that weekend's game.
In September 2022, having met the requirement for election, McAfee was named as one of the additional modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After being told of the news on his show, he said he was flattered by the nomination, but stated that there were other punters more deserving of inclusion, such as Shane Lechler.
