Antonio Brown Dodges Sanctions Over Bankruptcy Property Records

Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown avoided sanctions after his attorney revealed to a bankruptcy trustee that millions of dollars in properties he owns are uninsured.

The ex-football star is working to get insurance on all three of his Florida properties, his attorney Courtney Milam told Judge Peter D. Russin at a hearing Tuesday in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. Brown filed for bankruptcy a year ago.

The comments came after Chapter 7 trustee Leslie S. Osborne moved for the judge to hold Brown in contempt for failing to respond to requests for copies of deeds, proof of insurance coverage, and information about who lives at the homes, according to court papers. The trustee sought sanctions of up to $2,500 a day until Brown complied.

Brown handed over the information, so Russin said he wouldn’t hold him in contempt. But the judge noted that Brown’s latest required monthly income statement is past due, which he said will be a problem if it’s not filed.

Russin urged better communication from Brown moving forward and said it’s critical that he obtain property insurance.

“Nobody wants to see this go off the rails,” Russin said during the hearing.

Milam, of Van Horn Law Group PA, said Brown’s children and their mother live on the properties.

The dispute comes after Russin this month granted a request from the US Trustee, the Justice Department’s bankruptcy monitor, to convert Brown’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to a trustee-supervised liquidation proceeding. The US Trustee accused Brown of bad faith conduct and failing to adequately disclose financial information.

Brown has properties in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Odessa, Fla., that have been valued at more than $10 million, according to court and local county records.

Insuring the properties is in the best interest of Brown and his creditors, Osborne attorney Eyal Berger of Akerman LLP told Bloomberg Law in an email Tuesday.

“Ultimately, the Trustee will work with Mr. Brown and his professionals in an attempt to resolve the insurance issue as quickly as possible or seek any applicable Court remedy to resolve the issue,” Berger said.

Another Brown attorney, Chad Van Horn, declined to comment.

Brown spent most of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders, and New England Patriots. His bankruptcy filing listed about $3 million in debt.

After retiring and racking up debt, Brown was involved in litigation with several different people, including one suit in which he was found liable for a $1.2 million judgment after an alleged assault on a moving company delivery driver in 2020.

The case is Antonio Tavaris Brown, Bankr. S.D. Fla., No. 24-14931, hearing 5/20/25.