Antonio Brown Avoids Prison in Attempted Murder Case as Former NFL Star Takes Plea Deal

Antonio Brown's legal fight over a 2025 shooting in Miami took a major turn after the former NFL star agreed to a plea deal that will keep him out of prison. Brown was facing an attempted second-degree murder charge that carried a possible sentence of up to 30 years. Instead, he will plead no contest to aggravated assault and receive probation, according to his attorney Mark Eiglarsh. Brown was accused of firing two shots at a man after a fight outside a celebrity boxing event in Miami.

What Antonio Brown's plea deal means for his Miami case

Brown was scheduled to appear in court on September 30 to formally accept the agreement. Under the deal, adjudication will be withheld, meaning he will not be classified as a convicted felon, Eiglarsh said.

The former wide receiver had previously pleaded not guilty and sought to have the case dismissed under Florida's Stand Your Ground law. His defense maintained that Brown feared serious harm during the confrontation and acted lawfully. Eiglarsh said Brown continued to believe in his defense but decided the plea deal was the practical choice. “There's no prison, there's no jail, there's no house arrest. There's only straight probation,” he told ESPN.

The agreement came after Zul Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, the man Brown allegedly shot at, said through his attorney that he would no longer participate in the prosecution. Nantambu's lawyer, Richard Cooper, said his client had forgiven Brown and considered the agreement fair.

Antonio Brown's 2025 Miami shooting case

The incident happened on May 16, 2025, outside a celebrity boxing event in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. According to the arrest warrant, Brown took a handgun from a security staffer and fired two shots toward Nantambu after the two had been involved in a physical fight. Nantambu told investigators that one bullet grazed his neck.

Brown gave a different account through his Stand Your Ground filing. He said he was trying to reach his vehicle for safety after Nantambu attacked him and that he feared he could suffer serious harm. Police and prosecutors described the encounter differently. They alleged Brown chased Nantambu and fired at him from close range. The defense motion acknowledged Brown had fired the shots but argued they were warning shots aimed away from Nantambu.

Brown had spent nearly six months in Dubai before U.S. marshals extradited him in November 2025. He was later released on $25,000 bail and placed on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor. He last played in the NFL in 2021. He spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay.