Antonio Brown accepts plea deal in Miami shooting case, avoids prison

Antonio Brown, a former NFL star, has agreed to a plea deal in his second-degree attempted murder case, his attorney said Wednesday. The resolution places him on probation and eliminates the prospect of a prison term lasting decades. Brown's attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said the agreement came about two weeks after the sole alleged victim announced he would not participate in the prosecution. "They made [Brown] an offer he couldn't refuse," Eiglarsh said in a statement. "There is a profound difference between believing you can win a case and deciding that you and your family cannot afford to spend another year, or potentially several years, wearing an ankle monitor and fighting it." Eiglarsh told ESPN on Wednesday that Brown will go before a judge in a week to enter the plea formally; the charge is reduced to aggravated assault. "There's no prison, there's no jail, there's no house arrest. There's only straight probation," Eiglarsh told ESPN. "And no alcohol or drug evaluation, no psychological evaluation, no letter of apology, no community service hours, no fines. Just stay away from the victim. No one in their right mind will continue with litigation and/or uncertain stand your ground and trial when [the prosecutors] threw that on the table." If convicted, Brown, 38, could have received a prison term of as much as 30 years. Florida law set a mandatory minimum of 20 years in the case, which stemmed from gunfire outside an amateur boxing event in Miami's Little Haiti area in May 2025. He pleaded not guilty in November 2025 and filed a motion to dismiss the following month under Florida's "stand your ground" law. Eiglarsh also said Brown's choice to take the plea "should not be interpreted as a retreat from his position that he acted lawfully." On Sept. 9, the alleged victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, said through his lawyer that "he does not wish to participate" in Brown's prosecution. Earlier this month, attorney Richard L. Cooper said Nantambu had forgiven Brown for what happened in May 2025. "We believe that the ends of justice are accomplished with this plea deal, and my client wishes Mr. Brown good health," Cooper told ESPN on Wednesday. Following the May 2025 incident, Brown went to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and stayed there for almost six months before U.S. marshals extradited him. He was freed after posting $25,000 bail, then ordered to remain at home under a GPS ankle monitor. The "stand your ground" motion said Brown was attempting to reach his vehicle for safety after Nantambu attacked him. According to police, Brown hit Nantambu in the face and, with two other people, carried on the assault. A police account of security video indicated Nantambu then walked away. Brown then "chases him down with a gun and shoots at him at point-blank range," according to a prosecutor. Police further said social media footage depicted Brown holding a gun close to Nantambu. Police said two shots were fired, and Nantambu ducked when he heard the first one. In the stand your ground motion, which recognized Brown as the person who fired, he said he "reasonably feared" Nantambu was armed and that Nantambu made an "aggressive movement" toward him. "In that moment, Brown again reasonably feared death or great bodily harm," the motion read. The motion claimed Brown fired two "warning shots, intentionally aiming away from Nantambu to ensure he would not be struck." Brown also stated that after a struggle, Nantambu took the gun and departed with it. Brown played 12 years in the NFL and was an All-Pro wide receiver. His final season came in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.