He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, earning consensus All-American honors in 2017.
[1][2] As a junior in 2017, Mata'afa was a consensus All-American and was named the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.
On September 15, 2019, in his NFL debut, he recovered an Aaron Rodgers fumble in a loss to the Packers.
On December 28, 2021, Mata'afa was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad, but was released six days later.
[22] The Generals folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).