Former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown has avoided prison time after a Miami-area judge accepted his plea to a sharply reduced charge in a case that began as an attempted-murder prosecution, according to multiple reports this week.

Brown, 38, was originally charged with second-degree attempted murder over a May 2025 road-rage confrontation with a truck driver, identified in court filings as Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu. Nantambu told investigators a bullet grazed his neck during the altercation; Brown has maintained on social media that he acted in self-defense against people he says tried to steal jewelry from him. The attempted-murder charge carried a potential sentence of up to 30 years, per wire service reporting on the case.

Under the deal brokered by Brown's attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, the ex-Steelers and Buccaneers star entered a no-contest plea to a reduced charge of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to probation, with adjudication withheld — meaning Brown will not be left with a felony conviction on his record as long as he completes probation successfully.

A hearing delayed, then finalized

The formal court proceeding didn't go as smoothly as expected. A hearing originally set for Sept. 30 was postponed after the judge said she was in the middle of another trial and could not go forward that day; the case was pushed to Oct. 28. The plea was ultimately accepted this week, with Brown sentenced to probation, according to ABC News.

ADJUDICATION WITHHELD — NO FELONY CONVICTION IF BROWN COMPLETES PROBATION

Nantambu's attorney, Richard Cooper, has said his client forgives Brown and does not intend to cooperate further with law enforcement on the matter, calling the plea arrangement a fair outcome. Cooper said Nantambu hopes Brown will use the resolution as a chance to "become a better person and be there for his family."

It's not the first time Brown has resolved a violent confrontation with a plea for probation. In 2020, he pleaded no contest to burglary with battery and related charges stemming from a dispute with a moving-truck driver at his Florida home, and was likewise sentenced to probation with adjudication withheld after completing a psychological evaluation and anger-management course.

Brown's NFL career, which included four All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay, unraveled amid a string of off-field legal and behavioral controversies before he last played in 2021. He has since pursued a career as a rapper, promoter and social-media personality, and has continued to generate headlines for brushes with the law rather than the game that made him famous. Florida prosecutors have not detailed the exact length of Brown's probation term publicly.