Antonio Brown avoids jail time in '25 shooting case in Miami - ESPN

MIAMI — Former NFL star Antonio Brown pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated assault with a firearm in connection with a 2025 shooting outside a celebrity boxing match in Miami.

Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez sentenced Brown to three years of probation, during which time he will have to attend weekly counseling sessions and not possess a firearm, among other conditions.

Wearing a black leather jacket and white pants, Brown spoke sparingly and in a low voice during the brief proceedings in Miami state court. As he entered his guilty plea, the judge asked him to speak up.

Outside the courtroom, Brown thanked God and said he wanted to «get back to life» and his family.

He declined to answer other questions, but his lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, said they were «extremely grateful that this matter has finally been resolved.»

«He faced a 30-year prison sentence, including a 20-year mandatory minimum. The prosecutors offered to reduce the charge and allow him to serve probation without a conviction. Given the stakes, it was an offer we couldn't refuse,» Eiglarsh added.

The plea to the reduced charge allows the All-Pro wide receiver to not only avoid prison time but criminal conviction.

Brown had initially been charged with attempted murder after police say he grabbed a handgun from a security staffer at the event and fired two shots at a man he had been in a fistfight with earlier.

Brown, 38, maintained he was defending himself from an attack as others were trying to steal jewelry from him.

Florida's Stand Your Ground law allows people who believe they face death or serious injury to use deadly force to defend themselves without a duty to retreat.

Prosecutor Howard Rosen said in court Friday that his office was seeking to reduce the charge