He played college football for the Rice Owls and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round (27th overall) of the 1977 NFL draft after being named MVP of the 1977 Senior Bowl.

Kramer guided the Lee Volunteers to a 28–27 victory which has been hailed by some as the best high school game ever played in Texas.

[2] Guided by head coach John Ferrara, the 1971 team finished 14–0–1[3] – a 7–7 tie with rival Churchill kept the Volunteers from being perfect – and the 1972 squad went 13–1.

In an era when most Texas high school football teams churned out yardage with ground-oriented offenses such as the wishbone or the veer, Lee achieved success by throwing the ball.

Surrounded by sure-handed receivers including Osborne, Rockett, and Gary Haack, Kramer was a master at picking apart defenses with his deft passing.

He made his debut in the 1971 season opener, replacing starter Bruce Trimmier and rallying Lee to a 7–3 victory over Alamo Heights on a rainy night.

[4] After a stellar career at Lee, Kramer became another in the long list of San Antonio products to play college football at Rice University.

In the 12th game of the year, Minnesota trailed the San Francisco 49ers 24–7 in the fourth quarter, and Kramer was brought in to replace Lee.

Facing the Cleveland Browns in the penultimate game of the regular season, he would take part of an iconic moment for the Vikings, as he threw a game-winning Hail Mary pass with six seconds left.

On the final play of the game, Rashad was clustered in a group of Browns defenders but managed to catch the ball and carry himself into the end zone.

He went 7–6 in his thirteen starts while throwing for 3,000 yards with 24 touchdowns to ten interceptions while leading the league in passer rating with 92.6.

Kramer (who was hurt on the first play of the game) was 5-of-9 on 50 yards as the Vikings rolled to a 44–10 win over the New Orleans Saints with Wilson at the helm.

His final appearance in a Vikings uniform was mop-up duty late in a playoff loss to San Francisco.

[19] On September 25, 2024, Kramer announced on Twitter that he was diagnosed with dementia a year prior, deciding to go public after fellow former Vikings quarterback Brett Favre announced his Parkinson's diagnosis and to bring awareness to for the NFL to assist with other players battling similar illnesses financially.