A Florida judge delayed Antonio Brown’s plea deal in his attempted second-degree murder case until October 28, leaving the former NFL star still facing serious charges.
Brown, the 38-year-old seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, appeared in court Wednesday as prosecutors and his defense tried to lock in a negotiated resolution. Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez told the parties she could not accept any change of plea that day and reset the hearing for October 28.
Daily Mail reported Brown left the courthouse in a dark hood and black mask after the postponement, with the underlying charge still tied to a May 2025 shooting outside a boxing event in Florida.
The delay was not a collapse of the deal on the merits. The judge said she had been in the middle of a capital sentencing hearing and was “not up to speed enough to move forward with a change of plea proceeding today.”
That left a carefully negotiated offer on hold. Brown’s attorney has described a resolution aimed at sparing prison time in exchange for probation, with Brown prepared to enter a no-contest plea rather than risk a trial that could carry decades behind bars.
Mark Eiglarsh, Brown’s lawyer, told the Daily Mail his client remains optimistic the court will eventually accept the deal once the judge has time to review the full record.
“While we are disappointed that the change of plea did not take place this morning, we remain optimistic that, once the Court has the opportunity to fully consider all of the facts and circumstances surrounding this case, the judge will accept the carefully negotiated resolution.”
Eiglarsh had already framed the stakes days earlier. On September 23 he announced Brown’s intent to change his plea and said, “They made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
He added that Brown has fought the case for more than ten and a half months and wants closure for his family, a chance to focus on his children, and a path to rebuild professional opportunities.
Prior comments from the defense also described the bargain as a way to avoid a potential sentence of up to 30 years. For a former star whose last NFL appearance ended in a mid-game blowup in January 2022, the plea track is the cleanest off-ramp still available.
The criminal case grows out of a May 16, 2025 incident outside an Adin Ross boxing event. Prosecutors charged Brown with attempted second-degree murder after he was accused of firing gunshots at longtime adversary Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, a jewelry designer who goes by Instagram as @fff_zulqarnain.
Nantambu later described the confrontation to the Daily Mail in blunt terms.
“He ran to get the gun. He shot at me. I think he grazed my neck. We started fighting for the gun.”
He continued: “The adrenaline is going crazy. He ran into me. I threw him on the ground. A gun fell. We start scrambling for the gun on the ground.”
Nantambu also said he suffered a broken finger and shared photos of his injuries. He claimed police arrived but made no arrests at the scene.
Brown’s camp has told a different story. In a prior motion to dismiss, Eiglarsh conceded Brown left a brawl, returned with a concealed firearm, and fired what the defense called “warning shots,” arguing Brown aimed away from Nantambu and hoped the shots would stop the aggression long enough for Brown to reach his vehicle.
The motion language put it this way: “Brown hoped the warning shots would deter Nantambu’s aggression, allowing Brown to safely reach his vehicle and leave the scene.”
Brown also claimed self-defense and, soon after the melee, posted on X that he was considering legal action against “the individuals that jumped me.”
After the May shooting, Brown left for Dubai. He was later extradited to the United States in November and released from jail on a $25,000 bond. The case has now stretched well past the ten-month mark Eiglarsh cited.
That timeline matters. A defendant who flees the country after a shooting, then returns under extradition and seeks probation through a no-contest deal, is asking the justice system to trade certainty for finality. Prosecutors in Miami agreed to the framework. The judge simply was not prepared to rubber-stamp it on Wednesday.
The bad blood did not begin in 2025. Nantambu has said the feud traces to 2022 in Dubai, ahead of a Floyd Mayweather Jr. boxing event, when he claimed Brown stole a valuable pendant and then lied to UAE police by accusing Nantambu of theft. Nantambu said that accusation led to his brief imprisonment there.
In 2022 Nantambu sued Brown in Florida and won a $968,960 civil verdict. That verdict was vacated in 2024 before the case was dismissed. Nantambu then pursued a partial reduced judgment of $123,600 in federal bankruptcy court.
Even as the criminal case moved toward a plea, Nantambu publicly forgave Brown and said he did “not wish to participate” in the prosecution. His attorney, Richard Cooper, called the plea deal a fair one and said Nantambu would not cooperate with law enforcement. On September 9, when the Daily Mail contacted him, Nantambu denied receiving any compensation to help Brown’s defense.
Forgiveness from the alleged victim does not erase the charge. Attempted second-degree murder is a state case. Prosecutors, not private parties, control whether a gun case ends in prison, probation, or a contested trial.
When Brown returns to court on October 28, Judge Mendez will have had time to review the negotiated package she declined to accept while handling a capital sentencing. The defense says it wants closure. The state has already signaled it can live with probation instead of a long prison term. Nantambu says he does not want to drive the prosecution.
None of that changes the core facts the public can already see. A former NFL star is accused of bringing a gun back to a fight outside a boxing event, discharging it, and later leaving the country before extradition. His own lawyer has acknowledged the return with a firearm and the shots. The alleged target says he was grazed and then wrestled for the weapon.
Brown’s last image on an NFL field, in January 2022 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was an argument with coaches, pads ripped off, and a walk to the locker room against the Jets. The court image this week was quieter: a hooded figure in a black mask, walking out after a judge refused to finish the deal on the spot.
Gun cases are supposed to turn on evidence, not celebrity, fatigue, or a victim’s desire to move on. If Florida still believes attempted murder is a serious charge, the October hearing is where that belief has to show up in open court, not in a rush to clear the docket.
