He played college football at Purdue, where he won all-Big Ten honors before being selected by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.

In his debut season, Karlaftis was part of the Chiefs Super Bowl LVII winning roster and was a regular starter.

[2] His mother Amy, who had grown up near Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana, met Matthew while she was a freshman.

[4] In his early years in Athens, he played water polo as a goalkeeper in the youth ranks of Panathinaikos,[5] the Greek team of which he is also an avid supporter.

[8] He also competed in track and field for the school, including winning back-to-back state championships in shot put.

[19] The Chiefs reached Super Bowl LVII, where they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35, with Karlaftis recording two tackles in the game.

Karlaftis helped the Chiefs reach Super Bowl LVIII where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 to win their second straight championship.