PHOENIX – The first sign of who Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson was going to become didn’t appear under stadium lights or in front of scouts. It happened on the living room floor with a Candy Land board spread out between Wilson and his brothers. 

His mother, Ngaire, still remembers watching her toddler son try to gain any advantage he could when he thought no one was looking.

“Michael used to try and cheat to win when he was 3 years old,” she said. “He just hated to lose.”

In the backyard, his youngest brother, Miles, quickly learned that a seven-year age gap afforded him no favors. Michael treated him like any other opponent, and Miles still remembers trying to dribble past him at 6 years old and getting his shot swatted into the grass.

“He would not go easy on me for no reason,” Miles said. “Blocking my shot, not letting me dribble past him.”

That competitive spirit has carried over into the NFL.

The Cardinals selected Wilson in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Stanford. In his first two seasons with the team, he tallied just over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2025, however, Wilson had a breakout season in which he had 1,006 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, nearly matching the production of his first two campaigns.

The numbers were aided in part by a string of injuries to receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., but as Cardinals training camp begins, Wilson doesn’t want to be a remember-that-guy, what-could-have-been story. He wants to be a consistent standard bearer for the Cardinals’ offense.

“I don’t want to be a one‑and‑done type of guy,” he said. “I don’t want people to say it was a fluke season.”

Arizona Cardinals training camp
Dates: July 24 – Aug. 9 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Parking: Free parking in the green and grey lots. Gates will open 30 minutes before each practice.

Admission: Free admission. Fans can obtain tickets via the Cardinals website. Gates will open 10 minutes before each practice.

Offerings: Player autograph sessions and photo opportunities with Big Red and the Cardinals cheerleaders.

Special events: Season ticket member exclusive practice on Sunday, Aug. 2. Red & white practice on Sunday, Aug. 9. 

Marcus, 18 months older, said his brother’s competitiveness wasn’t something that came out occasionally. If anything, it was the fuel of the Wilson household. Everything became a scoreboard, from basketball to swimming to video games, and even how long they could stay underwater in the pool. If there was a way to wedge a competitive aspect into something, they did.

“And he would definitely let you know about it, too,” Marcus said.  “If he won, he was not afraid to show it at all.”

Their oldest brother, Davon, by 17 years, came home from college and added football to the mix. He invented a backyard game called Breakthrough, a homemade offense vs. defense drill, and the boys played it for hours. Sundays became “boys day,” with their mother at work and the brothers turning the backyard into a practice field.

“Every Sunday, we’d be out there playing that game for three, four hours,” Davon said. “He just loved it. I think that’s where his passion and love started to grow for the game of football at that age, 4 or 5.”

Wilson remembers his youth the same way. 

“All we did from the time I can remember is compete,” he said. “From the time we’d get up after breakfast to the time we’d go to sleep, we were competing the whole day.”

As he took up organized sports, Michael was always chasing Marcus, trying to keep up with older kids who were “bigger, faster, stronger.” 

Ngaire recognized his talent from an early age. 

“Michael would always play up,” she said. “He was always one of the best athletes on the field.”

Davon recalled one youth game when Wilson touched the ball four times and scored four touchdowns. 

“He was out of the game in the first quarter,” Davon said. “And this one lady, I’ll never forget, it was a grandma, and she said, ‘This kid’s going to be playing on Sunday.’” 

Davon didn’t think much of it at the time, but looking back, he realized she was probably the first person outside their family to say it out loud.

Wilson finished that season with more than 30 touchdowns. 

“You go on YouTube and look up Michael Wilson, Simi Valley Patriots,” Davon said. “You’ll see all 30-plus touchdowns.”

Before football became the sole focus, Wilson also dominated in soccer, scoring “five, 10 goals a game” as a striker. 

Once Wilson reached high school, he garnered early interest in basketball as well, enough that Ngaire remembers his first college scholarship offer was for basketball. She said he could have gone in any direction athletically. 

“Whatever sport he put his mind to, he would have succeeded in,” she said. “But he chose football.”

When football became the focus for Michael, his father, Orville, began pushing Stanford not just for football, but for everything else the school represented. Michael admired the way Stanford players carried themselves. He liked that they were articulate, polished and professional, and he admired that they seemed to understand how to operate in the world beyond football.

“The dudes they were putting out into the league carried themselves the right way, really articulate, communicated great,” Wilson said. “That was kind of how I always wanted to be.”

Wilson committed two weeks after receiving his offer.

Stanford was also where he met Sophia Smith, now one of the best women’s soccer players in the world. Their first interaction came in the training room as Wilson was recovering in the hot tub while Smith stepped into the ice bath. He noticed her immediately, long before he knew anything about her resume.

“I thought she was cute, ” Wilson said. “I didn’t know she was the number one player in the country.”

Their chemistry was instant, and during a freshman icebreaker night, they kept catching each other’s eyes. 

“You could tell there was definitely a spark and some chemistry between us,” he said.

His mom noticed that connection immediately. 

“I always said they’re the mirror of each other,” she said. “They just get each other and understand what they’re going through.”

Smith, who currently plays for the Portland Thorns, began her ascent to the top at Stanford, where she led the team to the 2019 NCAA national championship. Selected with the first pick in the 2020 NWSL draft, Sophia became the first teenager ever to be drafted into the league. She also made her debut with the U.S. Women’s National Team that same year.

Two years later, she led the Thorns to the NWSL Championship and was named the NWSL MVP. Internationally, Smith was also named the 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. In 2023, she was the league’s top goal scorer, earning the NWSL Golden Boot, and in 2024, she played a crucial role in the USWNT’s Olympic run, scoring three goals en route to the gold medal.

Their relationship has survived long distance, demanding schedules and the pressure of maintaining elite performance. Wilson said they’ve “always done long distance,” sometimes going six weeks without seeing each other. In college, he didn’t have the money to fly out every weekend, and he wasn’t allowed to leave campus because of football obligations. In the NFL, the schedule is lighter, but the strain remains for the now-married couple.

That said, Wilson believes that fatherhood changed everything.

“Gigi’s like my little luck charm,” Wilson said of his 10-month-old daughter. “Every single game she’s ever been at, I’ve had crazy catches.”

Wilson said Gigi transformed his energy. Before she was born, he’d come home from practice exhausted, often needing a nap. After she arrived, that feeling disappeared. 

“When I’m around her, the thought of being tired doesn’t even cross my mind,” he said. “Kids push you and challenge you and make you operate at your highest level all the time.”

Ngaire sees that newfound responsibility as well. 

“If he had a bad game, the first thing he asked was, ‘Where’s Gianna? I want to hold her,’” she said. “She just makes everything better.”

Davon experienced a different side of Wilson’s growth. Before his first child was born a few months ago, he asked Michael for advice. Wilson sent him a long, thoughtful message about the newborn phase, breastfeeding, exhaustion and how to support a partner. Davon said it read like a letter.

“Here I am 17 years older,” Davon said, “and he’s giving me advice. He has an old soul.”

Following the birth of Gigi, Wilson had his breakout season.

Ngaire said they “always knew how good Michael is” and “just wished everybody else could see that,” while Marcus said that “with the opportunity, nobody can do what he does.” 

Davon framed it in football terms: “He’s not just a receiver. He’s a football player. That dude does it all.”

Miles wasn’t ready to anoint his brother, at least not publicly. 

“To his face, he sucks, and I tell him, ‘You’re the worst, bro,’” Miles said, laughing. “But genuinely, behind his back, he really is the best… the most hardworking in the league.”

Wilson believes last year wasn’t the peak of his career; rather, it now serves as the baseline. 

“Now I know that’s in me,” he said. “And the organization knows I have that potential.”

His brothers have simple messages for him as he enters his fourth NFL season. Marcus told him to “do better than what you did last year,” and Davon told him to “never stop with conviction.” Miles just wants him to “do it again.”

Regardless of her son’s performance on the field, Ngaire is overjoyed with the man he has become off of it. 

“He’s always brought us so much joy and so much pride,” she said. “We just love him so much.”

Wilson’s story isn’t complicated, and neither is the mantra by which he lives his life. 

“How you do one thing is how you do everything,” he said.

Republish This Story

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.