He played college football for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL draft.
Rattay was also a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, and Las Vegas Locomotives.
Because he was a backup, Rattay did not play until his senior year at Phoenix Christian, where he set a school record with 40 touchdown passes in 1994.
When Garcia was released from the team in March 2004, largely due to salary cap constraints,[8] Rattay was given the starting job.
Late in the 2006 season, Rattay stepped in as the starting quarterback for the Buccaneers due to the poor play of Bruce Gradkowski.
On October 9, 2007, Rattay signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals as a backup to Kurt Warner, following a season-ending collarbone injury to starting quarterback Matt Leinart.
In September 2008, there were rumors that the New England Patriots considered signing Rattay after Tom Brady was lost for the entire 2008 season.
On November 21, Rattay started for an injured Losman and led the Locomotives with two touchdown passes in a blowout win against the New York Sentinels.
[16] Skip Holtz hired Rattay to be the Louisiana Tech wide receivers coach prior to the 2013 football season.