Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs pleaded no contest Thursday in Brown County to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property, resolving the criminal case tied to an incident involving his ex-girlfriend but opening the door to NFL discipline.
“I fully understand the seriousness of the situation and I take full responsibility,” Jacobs told the court.
Jacobs’ attorneys, David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld and Clarence F. Duchac, said in a statement that “with this agreement, Josh has accepted responsibility for his conduct and resolved this matter,” adding that “today’s resolution is set against a career-long history of Josh’s community work while in the NFL, which has centered on the circumstances of his early life.”
The judge warned Jacobs before he entered his pleas that the court would treat a no-contest plea the same as a guilty plea. Jacobs said he understood.
The court fined Jacobs $1,000 on the battery charge. On the criminal damage to property charge, Jacobs was ordered to complete a set of requirements over the next 12 months. If he fails to meet them, he can be brought back before the court and found guilty on both charges, each of which carries a maximum penalty of nine months in the Brown County Jail and a $10,000 fine.
What Happens Next With the NFL
Jacobs is currently on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s exempt list, which means he continues to be paid while away from the team. The league says it has not set a timetable for finishing its review of the case under the Personal Conduct Policy.
Under that policy, a first-time offense involving physical force typically carries a baseline six-game suspension, though the league can shorten that period if it finds cooperative or mitigating circumstances. A suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy, unlike the exempt list, would be unpaid.
Jacobs is expected to miss the Packers’ season opener Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings regardless of the NFL’s timeline, and the plea agreement makes it likely he will be away from the team for a stretch beyond that game.
Jacobs had been scheduled to face trial in November. By pleading no contest now, he avoided that longer process, though his return to the Packers still depends on how the league’s ongoing review concludes.
