The life of a WAG can be portrayed as a fantasy and dream come true. The lavish parties and extravagant homes and trips and purchases. Being hitched to a millionaire NBA player is a status symbol for some women. It also comes with its challenges and sometimes heart break. In addition to infidelity, which can rock a long distance relationship with a pro athlete, the culture of the job makes sustaining long-term relationships and building families with parents under one household very difficult.
WAG Mariah Dorsett has Moved 10 Times In Husband Phillip Dorsett’s 11-Year NFL Career
Mariah Dorsett began dating her husband, a journeyman NFL wide receiver, back in 2016. Phillip Dorsett was in his second season in the NFL. The fact that they are still together in a happy and healthy relationship is commendable considering since they met, Mariah has followed Phillip’s NFL dream to 10 different teams over the course of his 11-year pro career.
An NFL journeyman never knows when or where his duty will take him, so sometimes, Mariah recently told People, the moves occur within months of each other.
Military families can relate. When your family moves from city to city it’s very hard to establish relationships and roots in the community. In the case of the Dorsett family, that nomadic lifestyle has become common while raising daughter Peyton, age 3, and six-month old son Micah.
Dorsett entered the league in 2015 and played two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts followed by three seasons with Tom Brady’s Patriots. After missing the 2020 season, he bounced around to three teams (Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans) in 2021. He played 15 games in 2022 with Houston before moving to Denver in 2023.
The 34-year-old Mariah met Phillip, 32, when she was working as a health coach and in school for her master’s degree. She was a homegrown Indiana girl who was ready to complete the final year of her studies when Phillip was traded to New England. That’s when their relationship became forever intertwined. The situation worked out for both as Mariah could complete her classes online and the relationship could continue with the two in close proximity.
“I heard about the Patriots, but I was like, ‘Where is that at?’ Mariah said. “I was freaking out. I’m like, “Where’s New England at? Where is Boston?Oh my God. I didn’t even know where the team was, at first.”
Mariah says the 2020 trade to Seattle threw them for a loop, because as she told People, it’s an area she never imagined living in.
“Some of the places that we lived in, I’m like, ‘I would’ve never even dreamed of even thinking about living there,’ so it’s nice to explore the cities,” she said.
Chasing NFL Checks: Phillip Dorsett & Wife Mariah Must Always Stay Ready To Move At Drop Of A Dime
The three-team stint in 2021 was a whirlwind. In March, after leaving Seattle, Phillip signed with the Jags and played just one game. In September, he left Florida and returned to Seattle, before being shipped to Houston three months later. On to Texas in 2022 in the midst of having their first child. In March of 2023, Phillips signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, but then ended up with the Broncos.
He signed with the Falcons in 2024, first to the practice squad on October 22, and later to a reserve/future contract on January 6, 2025. He was released by the Falcons on May 12, 2025. Then grinded his way back to Nevada as a member of the Vegas Raiders practice squad in September 2025 after star wide receiver Amari Cooper was placed on the Reserve/Retired list.
With the motion that Phillips has and Mariah considering herself “a professional mover,” they fortunately have a family that helps keep the kids grounded. Dorsett is no superstar, but he’s a solid professional who must chase checks to keep his family going. Mariah is now a stay-at-home mom and the $14.5M he’s made over his NFL career is on the low end for most 10-year veterans. So while financial stability is cool, convenience and community stability has never been a thing for them.
“His parents are very involved as well,” says Mariah. “They’re always my backbone and helped me. They fly in wherever we’re at and help get everything together.”
Her sister also helps out, says Mariah, as a live-in nanny who homeschools the daughter.
The Kids Have Slowed Down Mariah’s Professional Mover Lifestyle
With the business of football changing and shifting at any minute, Mariah says that now that kids are involved, she doesn’t immediately pack up and move whenever Phillip gets a new NFL address, although she’s a seasoned WAG when it comes to abrupt and dramatic pivots in living situations.
Now “once he gets to a team, I wait and see how the season is going to go, how he’s feeling and then usually, we’ll make the move and come down a bit later. Because the last time we were here in Vegas, we moved, we got settled and then literally five days before the season started, he got traded,” Mariah said.
She added that finding housing can be a nightmare and expensive as well because “most of the time they want you to do one-year leases,” so sometimes the Dorsett family has stayed at Airbnbs and other temporary accommodations. Such is the life of an NFL wife. Behind the glitz and the glamor and the glory.
Any marriage is hard to maintain and when your husband is moving at the drop of a time, chasing a dream takes plenty of sacrifice. The Dorsetts seem to have the system mastered, but it isn’t easy.