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In 1979 he was unexpectedly drafted in the first round (eleventh pick overall) by the New Orleans Saints. At the time this was the second highest selection of a kicker in the draft, with the highest drafted kicker being Charlie Gogolak. The Saints hoped to save a roster spot by having him perform both the place-kicking and punting duties, despite having solid veterans in both positions (Rich Szaro at placekicker and Tom Blanchard at punter).

He played six seasons in the NFL, primarily as a punter. Despite his stellar college career, he did not make the Pro Bowl during his NFL career.

In Erxleben's first NFL game, on September 2, 1979, the Saints and the archrival Atlanta Falcons went into overtime with the score 34-34. Midway through overtime, a snap went over Erxleben's head and rolled to the goal line. Erxleben picked the ball up and made a hurried chest pass. The pass was intercepted by Atlanta's James Mayberry at the 6-yard line, and he trotted into the end zone for a touchdown and a 40-34 Falcon victory.

The next week in Milwaukee, Erxleben pulled the hamstring in his right leg, forcing the Saints to use fullback Tony Galbreath as their emergency placekicker and wide receiver Wes Chandler at punter vs. the Green Bay Packers. The Saints lost 28-19, and later that week, coach Dick Nolan was forced to sign Garo Yepremian and then Rick Partridge to handle the kicking/punting chores in Erxleben's extended absence over the remainder of the season.

New Orleans finished the year at 8-8, one game behind the Los Angeles Rams, who won the division and played in Super Bowl XIV.

Following his disappointing rookie season, Erxleben missed a game-tying field goal attempt in the 1980 season opener, resulting in a 26-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a team that had won four games over the previous two seasons. The loss was the first of 14 consecutive defeats for the Saints, who ended the year 1-15.

In 1982 the Saints drafted Morten Andersen, who would be the team's placekicker for the next 13 seasons. He was New Orleans' union representative during the 1982 NFL players' strike. The Saints released him in 1984 after drafting his replacement, Brian Hansen. After four years out of football, he attempted a comeback with the Detroit Lions, but retired for good in 1988.

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After retiring from the NFL, he became a financial investor in foreign exchange trading, founding Austin Forex International in Austin, Texas. In 1999, following a tip, an investigation by the Texas State Securities Board and the Internal Revenue Service ensued; and Erxleben eventually pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, and a second count for securities fraud in connection with misleading statements regarding the past performance of Austin Forex.

On September 18, 2000, Erxleben was sentenced by United States District Court Judge James R. Nowlin to 84 months in prison and ordered to pay a total of $28 million in restitution with a one million dollar fine. Erxleben's lawyers, the law firm of Locke, Liddell & Sapp, settled a related lawsuit for $22 million in 2000. Other law firms settled and a total of $34 million was collected in the combined suits.

On January 24, 2013, Erxleben was arrested again on various federal charges related to an alleged Ponzi scheme.[3] In December 2013 Erxleben pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.[4] On February 24, 2014, he was sentenced to 90 months in prison.[5][6]

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