Antonio Brown is preparing to resolve his attempted murder case more than a year after a chaotic confrontation outside a Miami boxing event led prosecutors to accuse the former NFL star of firing two gunshots at another man.
Brown’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, says prosecutors have offered a plea agreement that will dramatically reduce the attempted second-degree murder charge against Brown and result in probation instead of incarceration. Brown is scheduled to appear in Miami-Dade court on September 30 to formally enter the deal. The exact reduced charge has not yet been publicly identified.
The agreement represents a major shift in a case that once exposed Brown to decades in prison. The Associated Press reported after Brown’s November 2025 court appearance that Miami-Dade prosecutors were seeking a firearm enhancement that could increase his potential sentence to as much as 30 years. Because prosecutors alleged a firearm was discharged during the offense, Florida law also created the possibility of a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence if Brown were convicted under the enhanced charge. Florida’s firearm sentencing statute establishes that minimum for certain felonies when a firearm is discharged.
Eiglarsh told TMZ Sports that accepting the deal does not mean Brown is abandoning the self-defense argument he has maintained throughout the case.
“This was not an easy decision,” Eiglarsh said.
“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.”
Eiglarsh separately told NBC 6 South Florida that Brown was not accepting the agreement because he now agreed with the state’s version of what happened. The lawyer said the decision instead reflected the risks of continuing to fight a serious felony case while Brown remained subject to court monitoring.
The case traces back to May 2025, when Brown attended a boxing event associated with streamer Adin Ross in Miami. According to an arrest warrant reviewed by multiple news organizations, Brown became involved in a physical confrontation with Zul Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, a man he had known for several years. Investigators alleged that after security separated the fight, Brown obtained a handgun and pursued Nantambu before two shots were fired.
The Miami Police Department said officers responded to the area near Northeast 2nd Avenue and 67th Street after receiving a gunshot detection alert. Police said no injured person was located at the scene and no arrest was made that night. Brown was temporarily detained, searched, and released. Investigators later identified him as the alleged shooter and secured a warrant charging him with attempted second-degree murder.
The arrest warrant alleged that surveillance footage showed Brown fighting with Nantambu before security intervened. Investigators said additional cellphone footage showed Brown moving toward Nantambu while holding a firearm and captured the sound of two shots. Nantambu later told detectives that he believed one of the bullets may have grazed his neck and said he went to a hospital following the confrontation, according to the warrant reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. (Los Angeles Times)
There has been some dispute over the claimed injury. At Brown’s November 2025 bond hearing, prosecutors said Nantambu was not struck by a bullet, according to the Miami Herald. During that same proceeding, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer remarked that the circumstances appeared to resemble aggravated assault more than attempted murder, although she did not reduce or dismiss the charge.
Brown has consistently offered a different account of the encounter. After the incident, he publicly said, “I was jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me,” according to reporting on his social media statement by the Los Angeles Times. Brown also emphasized at the time that police released him that night rather than arresting him.
His defense eventually turned that argument into a formal attempt to have the entire prosecution thrown out.
According to the Miami Herald, Eiglarsh filed a motion in December 2025 seeking immunity for Brown under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. The defense claimed Brown feared serious injury and fired warning shots rather than intentionally shooting at Nantambu. Brown’s attorneys also disputed the state’s allegation that he took the firearm from a security guard, maintaining that the gun was Brown’s own weapon. Those claims remain the defense’s account and were contested by prosecutors.
The relationship between Brown and Nantambu also predates the Miami confrontation. According to court records described by the Miami Herald, the two knew each other from at least 2022. Brown’s defense has alleged previous disputes between the men as part of its argument that Brown feared Nantambu. Those allegations became part of the Stand Your Ground motion rather than an independent finding by the court.
Another significant development arrived just weeks before the plea agreement.
On September 10, Nantambu’s attorney, Richard Cooper, told Local 10 News that his client had “forgiven” Brown and “does not wish to participate” in Brown’s prosecution. Cooper said the decision followed reflection and conversations with Nantambu’s family and legal counsel. A complaining witness declining to participate does not automatically end a criminal prosecution because the state, rather than the alleged victim, brings the criminal case.
Brown’s legal problems had also stretched across multiple countries. The Miami Police Department said Brown was located in Dubai and apprehended after the arrest warrant was obtained. He was transported to New Jersey before being returned to Miami. A judge later granted him a $25,000 bond and ordered GPS monitoring while the case moved forward.
Brown pleaded not guilty after returning to Florida. A January 11, 2027 jury trial had eventually been placed on the court calendar, but that trial would no longer be necessary if the judge accepts the plea agreement scheduled for September 30.
The case has kept one of the NFL’s most accomplished receivers back in the headlines years after his final professional game. According to NFL career statistics, Brown finished his playing career with 928 receptions, 12,291 receiving yards and 83 receiving touchdowns across 12 NFL seasons. He became a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time first-team All-Pro during a career spent primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers before later playing for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now the most consequential chapter of Brown’s Miami criminal case appears headed toward a negotiated ending rather than a jury trial. Brown is still maintaining that he acted lawfully in self-defense, while prosecutors have not publicly withdrawn their allegations. What changes on September 30, if the court accepts the agreement, is the legal risk Brown faces: a case that carried the possibility of decades behind bars is expected to end with a reduced charge and probation instead.
