Antonio Brown Agrees to Plea Deal in Florida Assault Case

Former NFL star wide receiver Antonio Brown is scheduled to appear in a Miami courtroom Wednesday to accept a plea deal that will allow him to avoid prison time on a reduced charge in an attempted murder case, according to his attorney.

Brown's defense attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, stated that Brown will plead no contest to aggravated assault and will be sentenced to probation. Adjudication will be withheld, meaning Brown will not be considered a convicted felon. This agreement spares him from a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison had he been convicted of the original charge, a deal Eiglarsh described as too good to pass up.

Brown was accused of firing two shots at a man he had been in a fistfight with earlier, following a celebrity boxing match in Miami on May 16, 2025. An arrest warrant detailed that Brown allegedly grabbed a handgun from a security staffer before firing. The man who was shot, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck. Brown has previously claimed on social media that he was acting in self-defense and that others were attempting to steal jewelry from him.

Florida's Stand Your Ground law permits individuals who believe they are facing death or serious injury to use deadly force without a duty to retreat. Richard Cooper, an attorney for Nantambu, has characterized the plea deal as fair and stated that his client forgives Brown and would not cooperate with law enforcement.

Brown, 38, played 12 seasons in the NFL, earning All-Pro honors as a wide receiver. He last played in 2021 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom he won a Super Bowl. His career, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers, included 928 receptions for over 12,000 yards and 88 total touchdowns. His tenure with the Buccaneers ended dramatically in 2021 when he removed his uniform and ran off the field during a game against the New York Jets, effectively concluding his professional football career.

Brown has a history of legal issues, including past accusations of battery against a moving truck driver, multiple domestic violence charges, and failure to pay child support.

In November 2025, Brown was extradited from Dubai, where he has business interests, following the issuance of an arrest warrant for the attempted murder charge in June of the same year.