Raghib Ismail: Everything About the “Rocket” Man

“A great man does not seek applause or place; he seeks truth. He seeks the road to happiness, and what he ascertains, he gives to others.”

Raghib Ismail is one such man who is a direct example of the saying above.

Ismail is an American football player who is leading a retired life as of now. He earned a big deal of popularity back in his days as he was a wide receiver.

Not only that, but Raghib showed awesome skill while returning a kick. He was especially famed for Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Ismail played for National Football League (NFL) and got into Canadian Football League (CFL).

Throughout his career, he earned many awards and made a lot of records.

Raghib was a CFL all-star in 1991, the Most Valuable Player of the 79^th grey cup, and Top 100 greatest football players of all time.

He was equally active outside his football career as well, as he made appearances in TV shows. All of them were American Physical reality shows.

This article presents in-depth details of his life and career. But first, let us look at some of his quick facts.

Raghib Ismail | Quick Facts

Raghib Ismail | Age, Height, and Body Measurements 

Ismail is 55 years old as of 2025. He was born on the eighteenth of November 1969.

The player’s full name is Raghib Ramadian Ismail. As Raghib was an amazing player, everyone began calling him Rocket Ismail.

He stands at a glorious height of 5’11″(1.8 m) and weighs around 185 lb (84 kg).

Looking at his height and weight, we can say that Raghib tried to balance as much as possible.

The former player may continue his rigorous workout to maintain his weight.

Ismail has a very muscular body; especially his toned legs stand out the most.

Fans love him not just for his physical features but because of the spectacular performance he gives. Ismail is best at what he does and is a top-notch footballer.

As a November born, his zodiac charts lie in the scorpion region. Scorpio is born with the traits like high independence, intuition, goal-oriented, adaptability, and resourcefulness.

Ismail has all of those character traits and more. He is a hard worker and a non-believer in luck.

Raghib’s Chinese zodiac is Rooster, and his lucky numbers are 5, 7, and 8.

Roosters are deep thinkers and honest. They are also known to be ambitious and warm-hearted.

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Raghib Ismail | Childhood and Education

Ismail was born to a proud father, Ibrahim Ismail, and a loving mother, Fatma Ismail. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States of America but grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Raghib went to Elmer L. Meyers Junior/Senior High School. Ismail wasn’t the only child in the family; he has two brothers, namely Qadry Ismail and Sulaiman Ismail.

All the children of the Ismail household are into sports. Qadry is an NFL wide receiver, and everyone called him ‘Missile.’

Sulaiman is also good at receiving and gained fame as a former university and New York Dragons receiver. His nickname is ‘The Bomb.’

Sadly, Raghib’s father passed away when he was as little as ten years old.

Due to this tragic incident, his mother could no longer afford private school tuition, so the kids moved to public school.

After that, Raghib converted from Sunni Muslim to devout Christian as he began living with his Christian grandmother.

Ismail’s grandmother was a member of the Assemblies of God’s church.

As a kid, he and his two brothers were outstanding students as well as exceptional athletes.

Raghib and Qadry gave their school an unbeatable team and an excellent one-two punch in the backfield. They were the gems of Meyers High.

Even though Ismail was small and undersized, he had the speed of light. He also planned amazing tactics against the rival teams.

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Raghib Ismail | Notre Dame Highlights

Ismail went to the University of Notre Dame. Lou Holtz sought him personally for Notre Dame.

Holtz was blown away by the young man’s on-field and off-field existence.

Raghib played for Notre Dame as a receiver, and his club ‘The Fighting Irish’ won the National championship. In the later year, the team came second in the 1990 Orange Bowl.

After two years, the fighting Irish went for the orange bowl with the same team but lost 10-9. They could have won the game with ease, but it was called back on a clipping penalty.

Ismail came second as a top college football player for Heisman Trophy; he lost to Ty Detmer from Brigham Young University.

Raghib was also featured in sports magazines twice and received a lot of awards, including All-American status.

In the NFL selection of 1991, Ismail thought of signing the contracts with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts at the last minute.

Los Angeles Raiders selected him with the hundredth overall choice in the draft.

Raghib was also a track star at the University, where he sprinted the 100 meters in 10.2 seconds. Likewise, he strived in the 55 meters, with an individual unsurpassed of 6.07 seconds.

Ismail completed 2nd in the 55-meter run at the 1991 NCAA Indoor Track Championships.

Raghib Ismail | Canadian Football League 

Since Ismail was already a star player, it was difficult to pay him enough money to join the CFL. Bruce McNall then made a deal with Toronto Argonauts by purchasing two players.

Argonauts paid a whopping amount of 18.2 million dollars over four years to Raghib.

The normal value of his full agreement was more than the expected CFL salary cap.

Thankfully, inside CFL, rules were comprising an exception for a “marquee player” who would not count alongside the cap.

CFL paid Doug Flutie of the BC Lions about one million dollars under the exception, but Raghib’s agreement was extra than North American football had ever witnessed.

His yearly pay was then the biggest in Canadian or American football history.

Following it

Ismail showed extraordinary skills in the 1991 season and his very first game. He recorded an 87-yard touchdown and got the title ‘Grey Cup Most Valuable Player.’

Raghib’s team defeated Calgary Stampeders by 36-21. And he returned a kick of seventy–three yards on a reverse.

The star player broke his own teammate’s record of fifty-yardage kickoff in a season.

Additionally, he was a wide receiver for the 1991 All-Star team and runner-up for the year’s rookie.

In 1992, Ismail ruined Clemons’ contract record for one-season kick return yards. Raghib wasn’t happy in Canada as his team collapsed to a 6–12 record, losing the playoffs.

Fans remember him for his contribution in a sideline brawl in contradiction of the Stampeders, where he treaded a contrasting competitor’s helmeted face heavily.

Nevertheless, he apologized for the accident on Speaker’s Corner.

As Toronto was facing some contract issues and McNall faced swelling monetary woe, Ismail left the CFL.

Afterward the season, he engaged with the Los Angeles Raiders.

If you are searching for an authentic Raghib Ismail’s Argonauts jersey, click the link to follow!

Raghib Ismail | Diving Into NFL

As LA Raiders took him as a rookie in NFL, he recorded an awesome three hundred and fifty-three yards as a receiver.

He didn’t stop at that, but Ismail made a record of five hundred and thirteen yards and five touchdowns the year later.

In the year 1995, in the first season of his team, he made a whopping record of four hundred and ninety-one. Raghib was a trailblazer and a Rocket as per his name.

Unfortunately, after having three unsuccessful seasons, LA traded him to the Carolina panthers.

Things went a little disappointing for Raghib as the year afterward, he recorded a career-low of 214 yards. And it was without a single touchdown.

But Ismail was a rocket and a trailblazer; he straight up had a breakthrough and registered 69 receptions the year after.

Not only that, but Rocket Ismail had eight touchdowns and thousand and twenty-four yards receiving, which actually double his career-high.

In the year 1999, the Dallas Cowboys contracted him by outbidding other teams. As Michael Irvin went through a career-ending wound, Ismail became the team’s prime wide receiver.

Raghib recorded a career-high of thousand and ninety-seven yards and insane six touchdowns that season.

In the year 2000, he missed six games as he had an injury in his right knee. He suffered from the tearing of his ACL in the game in contrast to the Philadelphia Eagles.

After this incident, things didn’t go smoothly in Raghib’s career. Ismail sprained his same knee previously injured in 2001 and suffered from a herniated disk in the neck in 2002.

The neck injury was due to a crash with a teammate during a training camp. In March of 2003, Ismail announced his retirement.

Raghib Ismail | FAQs

After retiring, what did Ismail do?

Ismail was a color analyst and a cohost in different American shows.

Did Raghib appear in the reality shows as well?

Yes, Raghib appeared in reality shows as well. In 2008 he coached for an extreme sports league.

Is his son a sportsperson too ?

Yes, the junior has just started his sporting career, and he is getting pretty good at it.

What is Raghib Ismail’s career statistic like? Is he in the Hall of Fame?

Raghib Ismail depicts a career statistic of 5,295 receiving yards, 363 receptions, and 30 touchdowns. Well, Ismail is Notre Dame’s record 47th College Football Hall of Fame player.

What are Raghib Ismail’s cards valued at?

Raghib Ismail’s card value starts from $1 to $600 or more. 

If you are interested in buying Raghib Ismail’s cards, click the link to follow!

Raghib Ismail | Personal Life

Rocket Ismail married Melanie Ismail four months after meeting each other on a blind date. After a year of marriage, Melanie gave birth to Rocket Ismail Jr.

Fifteen years of married life with four children must have been one hell of a ride for the Ismail couple. They seem to enjoy each other’s presence truly.

Ismail couple acts like best friends and still behaves like newlyweds. This might be the secret of their long-lasting marriage.

Melanie is a musician by profession. Since the youngest kid in the household has started going to school, she is thinking about resuming her music career.

The wife of a former footballer is a motivational speaker as well.

Raghib is also a motivational speaker and gives speeches in different organizations and colleges.

Raghib Ismail | Social Media Presence

😊Right on Bruh✊🏾 https://t.co/azfMgKJn8g

— Rocket Ismail (@iamrocketismail) January 2, 2021

It seems that the star player of the NFL enjoys his life by not getting too much involved in social media. 

He has a private Instagram account and a verified Twitter account with less than 10k followers.

Twitter – 7,909 Followers 

Instagram – 1,082 Followers

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