The hearing in which former NFL wide‑receiver Antonio Brown was due to accept a plea deal in a Florida attempted murder case has been postponed to October 28. The judge presiding over the case cited an ongoing trial that prevented her from proceeding with the plea agreement.
Brown appeared in a Miami courtroom on Wednesday wearing a black hood that obscured his face. He was charged with removing a handgun from a security staffer after a celebrity boxing match on May 16, 2025, and firing two shots at a man he had previously fought with. An arrest warrant states that one of the bullets grazed the man’s neck.
Defender Mark Eiglarsh said Brown was eager to close the case and that the plea deal, which would spare him a felony conviction, was too advantageous to decline. Eiglarsh expressed cautious optimism that the judge would eventually accept the terms, noting that the delay was a setback for Brown, who has been wearing an ankle monitor.
If convicted of the original attempted murder charge, Brown faces up to 30 years in prison. He has claimed on social media that he was defending himself from an attack and that others were trying to steal jewelry from him. The case invokes Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which permits the use of deadly force when a person believes they face imminent serious injury.
Brown, 38, spent 12 seasons in the NFL, earning All‑Pro honors and winning a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. His career ended after a controversial exit from a game against the New York Jets. He has a history of legal troubles, including domestic violence charges and failure to pay child support. In November 2025, he was extradited from Dubai, where he had business interests, following the issuance of an arrest warrant in June of that year.
