Seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Brown pleaded guilty earlier Friday to aggravated assault with a firearm in connection with a 2025 shooting outside a celebrity boxing match in South Florida.
The former Steelers wideout was sentenced to to three years of probation during which time he will have to attend weekly counseling sessions and not possess a firearm, among other conditions.
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Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez presided over the case.
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Steelers receiver Antonio Brown scores a touchdown during the NFL football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Mecedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. (Scott Clause/ USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
The plea deal allows Brown to avoid any time in prison as well as any criminal conviction, and he could seek an early termination of probation at about the halfway mark of the sentence so long as all terms are met.
Initially, Brown was charged with attempted murder after local police said he grabbed an security guard’s gun and fired two shots at a man he had been involved in a physical altercation with just moments earlier.
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Former NFL star wide receiver Antonio Brown walks after being released from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Miami (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Brown, on the other hand, claimed self-defense, saying that he was defending himself from someone trying to rob him of his jewelry.
The “Stand Your Ground” law in the state of Florida allows people who believe they face death or serious injury to use deadly force to defend themselves without a duty to retreat.
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Jan 2, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown (81) on the field before the game against the New York Jets during the second half at MetLife Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)
If convicted of the original charge, the 38-year-old former NFL star faced up to 30 years in prison.
Brown’s career started as well as anyone could have imagined, as the former sixth-round-pick from Central Michigan went from fighting to earn a roster spot to becoming one of the most prolific wide receivers in Pittsburgh franchise history.
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His exit from the Steel City marked a downturn both professionally and personally, and his NFL career ended unceremoniously in Tampa, where he infamously exited the playing field in the middle of a game against the New York Jets while removing his pads and jersey.