Gramatica went to LaBelle High School of LaBelle, Fla. but did not play football until senior year after growing up playing soccer in Argentina. He hit 8 out of 10 field goals(longest 52 yds), 22 PATs, and sent 38 of 49 kickoffs out of end zone.

In college he attended Kansas State University where he made 54 out of 70 FGs and 187-192 PATs gaining a school record of 349 points in four seasons. He also set the single-season school record with 135 points. In 1996 he was granted a medical redshirt. Gramatica was a first-team All-America choice by the Associated Press both his junior and senior years and received the Lou Groza Award in 1998. Notably, he also kicked 3-3 FGs from 50+ yards his junior year and as a senior kicked a phenomenal 65-yarder against Northern Illinois; the longest FG in NCAA history without a tee. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in social science in May 1999. Also of note was his characteristic jumping in celebration after every successful field goal regardless of relative importance, however he stopped this after his brother, Bill Gramatica tore his ACL while playing for the Arizona Cardinals and celebrating in a similar manner after kicking a meaningless field goal. He is regarded by many in Kansas as the best kicker of all time.

He was a third round choice (99th overall) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played for five seasons. He was the starter for the NFC Pro Bowl team in 2001. In 2002 he won the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming the first Argentinean in history to do it.

Gramatica was respected in the NFL as one of the best kickers in the game, but in 2003 Gramatica had a noticeable drop in accuracy with field goals 40 yards or longer, a trend that continued in 2004 until ultimately being released by the Buccaneers. He was shortly signed by the Indianapolis Colts in December of 2004 and was used exclusively for kickoffs. Gramatica later revealed in an interview in September of 2005 with news-press.com that he believed the reason for his struggles was because of torn muscles in his lower abductor and lower abdomen, which he had surgically repaired during the offseason. However, Gramatica was not done with rehabilitation until after the season started, and did not sign with a team for the 2005 season. On April 6, 2006 he signed a contract with the New England Patriots.