Matthew Brian Stevens, a former NFL safety, passed away on March 20, 2025, at the age of 51.
He established a respectable 8-year career as a safety in the National Football League (NFL), playing for teams like the Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Houston Texans, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Born in Rockingham, North Carolina, Stevens rose from a standout college career at Appalachian State University to an NFL tenure from 1996 to 2003.
After retiring, Stevens remained out of the public eye until July 21, 2007, when he got into a motorcycle crash on a Houston freeway. The former NFL player got paralyzed from the waist down.
Amid the ordeal, Stevens’ marital status surfaces, however, in a contradictory way.
A Houston Chronicle article from July 26, 2007, mentions his “former wife” breaking the news of his paralysis to him in the hospital. This suggests that he might have been married before, but by mid-2007, Stevens and his wife had broken their marriage.
Yet, a fan’s recollection from the same year describes meeting Stevens with his “really nice wife” at a Texans clinic. This hints at a spouse present during or shortly after his Houston tenure in 2002 or 2003.
These bits don’t match up perfectly, and no one says her name or what happened to her.
However, Stevens didn’t talk much about his personal life; hence, whether he was married has yet to be ascertained.
Likewise, his obituary, shared after he died, lists two children, Matthew and Peyton, among his survivors, alongside his parents, Gerald and Nancy, and brother, Mark. However, it doesn’t mention a wife or ex-wife.
Chances are he might have been married during his NFL days, maybe to the mom of his kids, but it seems that marriage ended before 2007.
Although it is unknown if Matt Stevens was married previously or not, by the time he died, he didn’t seem to have a wife anymore.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Stevens was part of the New England Patriots team that won Super Bowl XXXVI in 2001.
- Before joining the NFL, Stevens was a two-time All-American safety at Appalachian State University and helped lead his team to a Southern Conference Championship in 1995.
