Lacrosse Star Paul Rabil Retires After Record-Breaking 14-Year Career

Rabil, 35, retires as professional lacrosse’s all-time scorer, a former three-time MLL most valuable player and a two-time MLL champion.

Paul Rabil, the cofounder of the Premier Lacrosse League and a midfield for Cannons Lacrosse Club, announced his retirement Tuesday, putting an end to one of the most accomplished careers in the sport’s history.

Rabil, 35, retires as professional lacrosse’s all-time scorer, a three-time MLL Most Valuable Player and a two-time MLL champion. In 2018, along with his brother, Mike Rabil, he cofounded the PLL, where he has played for each of the past three seasons.

Despite retiring as a player, the PLL said in a statement that Rabil will continue to build the league as one of its cofounders. Rabil will also be working on a number of lacrosse-related initiatives, including Goals for Greatness, where he is looking to resource lacrosse goals in all 50 states, beginning in 2022, and recurring each year thereafter. He is additionally planning to support an effort to see lacrosse included in the '28 Los Angeles Olympics.

In his final season as a player, Rabil scored 18 goals and recorded six assists, giving him a record-657 total points in 14 seasons of play. 

"He's bigger, faster, stronger," Kyle Harrison, one of Rabil's former teammates at Johns Hopkins who also retired from the PLL after this season, told Sports Illustrated in 2018. "Smarter. More efficient. Someone at his size within our sport, it was the first time it had all come together."

The third season of the PLL concludes Sunday, with Whipsnakes facing off against Chaos in the championship game. The contest can be seen on NBC and will get underway at 12 p.m. ET.

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