After attending St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois, he played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats, receiving second-team All-Big Ten Conference honors as a senior.

In the same game, he became the first Big Ten Conference player to score a passing, receiving, and rushing touchdown since Zack Mills from Penn State in 2004.

He was expected to be the backup quarterback behind Vick in 2012 but a broken hand caused him to miss time in the preseason and was ultimately released in favor of rookie Nick Foles and veteran Trent Edwards.

[13] Days before Northwestern faced Nevada in the fourth game of the season, head coach Pat Fitzgerald confirmed that Kafka would remain the starter despite his poor prior performances.

[6] One of the games he missed was the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I-A history, an eventual 41–38 loss to Michigan State on October 21.

Kafka became the first Big Ten Conference player to score at least one passing, receiving and rushing touchdown in a game since Zack Mills from Penn State accomplished it on September 4, 2004, against Akron.

[45] Kafka shared time at quarterback with Persa due to his strained hamstring on November 7 against the 4th-ranked, and previously undefeated, Iowa Hawkeyes.

[46] Persa had to leave the game early to receive X-rays for a hand injury, which forced Kafka to play more than original planned.

[6] He finished fourth in the Chicago Tribune's Silver Football voting, given out to the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player, behind Brandon Graham, Daryll Clark and John Clay.

[64][65] Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald said at the time that 85 NFL scouts, general managers and personnel directors who watched film or came to see a game or a practice said about Kafka was that he "throws a lot better than our No.

[68] Kafka was invited to the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, which started on February 24, along with teammates Corey Wootton and Sherrick McManis.

[70] Priority hired former Chicago Bears quarterback Erik Kramer and a trainer in Phoenix, Arizona, to help Kafka prepare for the NFL Scouting Combine.

[71] To get ready for the Combine, Kafka worked out twice a day in Arizona and held practice sessions with Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate.

[78] In February, draft analyst Mike Mayock said that Kafka was "a developmental guy" who should stay on a team's practice squad for a year.

"[89] In the first preseason game on August 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kafka went 3-for-7 for 76 yards and threw a 57-yard pass to wide receiver Chad Hall after taking over for Vick late in the third quarter.

[96][97][98] In the week seventeen game against the Dallas Cowboys, Kafka was the backup quarterback to Kolb in a decision to rest Vick and the team's starters before the playoffs.

"[100] Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Kafka is the hardest working player in the NFL, but needs to get bigger and stronger.

[101] The Eagles reportedly received trade offers from other teams for Kafka prior to the 2011 NFL draft but declined due to his potential.

[110] In the second week of the preseason on August 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kafka entered the game in the fourth quarter and led the Eagles to two scoring drives in a 24–14 loss.

[128] The Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers reportedly had interest in signing Kafka immediately after his release from the Eagles.

[133] Kafka was expected to compete with Ryan Mallett for the backup job behind Tom Brady, but he was released on June 10 in favor of newly signed Tim Tebow.

[135] The general manager for the Jaguars, Dave Caldwell, said on June 13 that Kafka had as good of a chance at being named the starting quarterback as Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne, or Matt Scott had.

[145] During training camp, Kafka competed against Alex Tanney for the third-string quarterback spot behind Josh McCown and Mike Glennon.

[148] After spending the first three weeks of the season on the practice squad, Kafka was promoted to the active roster on September 25 due to an injury suffered by starter McCown.

The veteran combine was created as a way for unemployed players to potentially work their way back into the league by going through drills in front of NFL scouts and coaches.

[155] He was expected to compete with rookie undrafted signee Taylor Heinicke for the third quarterback job behind starter Teddy Bridgewater and backup Shaun Hill.

[156] In the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, in which the Vikings played the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kafka replaced Bridgewater as a member of the team's backup offense in the middle of the second quarter.

[163] The Tennessee Titans gave Kafka a workout after week 14,[164] and he signed with their practice squad on December 16, as the third quarterback on the roster behind Marcus Mariota and Zach Mettenberger.

[6] Mike's brother, Jason, was a pitcher for the independent Windy City ThunderBolts and attended St. Rita of Cascia High School.

[208] On November 13, 2014, Kafka started a Kickstarter campaign for his product, the Roo Inferno, a type of hand warmer for both athletes and outdoor enthusiasts.