Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has been in the National Football League a long time. Over the years, the Highland Park native has developed what real estate agents might call “character” or “charm” — in other words, not new.
In his 12 years with the Detroit Lions, Stafford endured only four winning seasons and lost all three playoff appearances. He needed something … new.
This season, he’s on a whole new team. He’s in a whole new experience — in Super Bowl LVI where he’ll take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
To top off his dream season, he has a brand-new mansion with that new mansion smell.
Stafford and his wife, Kelly, spent nearly $19.6 million on a 15,000-square-foot, high-tech modern estate in the Hidden Hills neighborhood, an enclave in the western foothills of San Fernando Valley. According to 64North, the architecture firm that designed the house, it has six bedrooms and nine bathrooms with an additional 3,000 square feet of covered patio and a six-car garage.
It’s an exclusive area, and if anyone knows exclusive areas around Los Angeles, it’s Ernie Carswell, a former Highland Park agent who runs a high-tone, real estate agency in Beverly Hills.
“Out in Hidden Hills, Stafford can have a spread overlooking other horse paddocks below his ridge and some scenic rolling countryside,” Carswell said. “It’s a traffic nightmare out there, which is why most residents stay put in their house and everyone comes to them.”
How exclusive is it? Hidden Hills has a population of about 2,000 and is truly gated with 95 percent of the city behind gates. Based on the neighborhood’s website, the homeowners association sounds pretty rigid, too. The city has no sidewalks or street lights but has plenty of horses, llamas, ostriches, and, as the city’s website says, “the occasional cow.” It’s a bit more eclectic than Stafford’s old Dallas neighborhood in the Park Cities.
Hidden Hills considers itself rural, but it’s west of downtown L.A., north of Malibu, past the Santa Monica Mountains, and off the Ventura Highway (U.S. 101).
“For Stafford, it must be a pain because he is expected to be elsewhere almost every day.” Carswell said. “Remember the tragic helicopter crash of Kobe Bryant? It was caused because of his need to travel far distances across this huge city and not be constrained to a car dealing with the traffic.
“So, one either adapts to the traffic timeline of living in Hidden Hills — which is like Denton to downtown Dallas by comparison — or you take to the air.”
If Stafford wants to stay close to his new home, he’ll have plenty to keep him busy. According to 64North, the Staffords’ home has a commercial theater, expansive gym, massage room with a steam shower, a spa built of stone and marble, two temperature-controlled wine rooms, and a separate house (if you want to drop in and visit). The mansion also is on a two-acre lot with a library, a shaded pergola, a basketball court, and various fruit trees.
For some reason, Hidden Hills seems to be a draw for North Texas celebrities. Jessica Simpson, a Richardson native; LeAnn Rimes, a Garland native; and Selena Gomez, a Grand Prairie native, and former Dallas Mavericks star Tyson Chandler are residents or former residents.
If they don’t want to come over and play bridge, Stafford can go out into his big backyard and play catch with neighbors who include Drake, Kylie Jenner, Lil Wayne, Dewayne Wade, Gabrielle Union, Jaden Smith, maybe a few Kardashians.
Carswell, who sold a similar house on Forest Knoll off the Sunset Strip in 2021, is a fan of the Staffords’ new place.
“The quality is good, and off-season it may even feel like a country resort,” Carswell said.
