Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown set to appear in Miami court for expected plea agreement

MIAMI (AP) — Former NFL star wide receiver Antonio Brown is scheduled to be in a Miami courtroom Wednesday to accept a plea deal will let him avoid prison time on a reduced charge in an attempted murder case, according to his attorney.

Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh has said Brown will plead no contest to aggravated assault and be sentenced to probation. He also said adjudication will be withheld, meaning Brown will not be considered a convicted felon.

Brown could have faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the original charge. Eiglarsh has said the agreement with prosecutors was too good to turn down. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said previously that details would be clarified at the hearing.

Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after a celebrity boxing match in Miami on May 16, 2025, and firing two shots at a man he was in a fistfight with earlier, according to an arrest warrant. Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck.

Brown has said on social media that he was defending himself from an attack and others were trying to steal jewelry from him.

Florida’s Stand Your Ground law allows people who believe they face death or serious injury to use deadly force to defend themselves without a duty to retreat.

Richard Cooper, an attorney for Nantambu, has called the plea deal a fair one. He has said Nantambu forgives Brown and would not cooperate with law enforcement.

Brown, 38, spent 12 years in the NFL and was an All-Pro wide receiver who last played in 2021 for Tampa Bay, including winning a Super Bowl with quarterback Tom Brady.

Over the course of his career, much of it spent with Pittsburgh, he had 928 receptions for more than 12,000 yards and accounted for 88 total touchdowns, including punt returns and one pass.

During a 2021 game with Tampa Bay against the New York Jets, Brown took off his jersey, shoulder pads and gloves and ran off the field, leading to his release by the Buccaneers and effectively ending his career.

Brown has dealt with several legal problems over the years. He previously was accused of battery of a moving truck driver, several domestic violence charges, failure to pay child support and other incidents.

Brown was extradited in November 2025 from Dubai, where he has business interests, after an arrest warrant on the attempted murder charge was issued in June of the same year.