Ex-NFL receiver Brown to avoid prison for attempted murder

Former Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown could have faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the original attempted murder charge.

Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown plans to accept a plea deal that will have him avoid prison time on a reduced charge in an attempted murder case in Miami.

His lawyer said on Wednesday the agreement with prosecutors was too good to turn down.

Brown is scheduled to appear in court on September 30 to make the deal final. Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh said Brown will plead no contest to aggravated assault. He will be sentenced to probation, and adjudication will be withheld, meaning Brown will not be considered a convicted felon, the attorney said.

Brown could have faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the original attempted murder charge.

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 had gotten into a fistfight with earlier, according to an arrest warrant. Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck.

"This was not an easy decision," Eiglarsh said in a statement Wednesday. "Antonio believes in his innocence. He believes strongly in his Stand Your Ground defense, and he believes he would ultimately prevail at trial. But when prosecutors put an offer on the table that transforms a potential decades-long prison sentence into a significantly reduced charge and probation, there was simply no way he could reasonably turn it down."

Florida's so-called 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.

"We are satisfied that justice is served. My client maintains what he said previously: that he forgives Brown and will not cooperate with law enforcement," Cooper said in an email Wednesday. "We wish Mr. Brown good health and that he grows from this event."

In a previous statement, Nantambu's attorneys said he had made the decision to forgive Brown after "considerable reflection, prayer, and consultation with his family and counsel."

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

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 championship with quarterback Tom Brady. He spent much of his career with Pittsburgh. For his career, Brown had 928 receptions for more than 12,000 yards and accounted for 88 total touchdowns, counting punt returns and one pass.

Brown was extradited in November 2025 from Dubai after an arrest warrant on the attempted murder charge was issued in June 2025.

He previously had been accused of battery of a moving truck driver, several domestic violence charges, failure to pay child support and other incidents.