Freddy Sparks-Ward, 25, has pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with use of a deadly weapon in relation to the July 22 stabbing of Devon Butler, a former NIU football player.

Other charges against Sparks-Ward were dropped as part of a plea deal, according to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle.

Butler was treated at Kishwaukee Community Hospital and released a short time later, according to a news release. At the time, DeKalb Police Lt. Jason Leverton said Butler’s injury was not a major knife wound and was not life-threatening.

According to a July 24 Northern Star article, Leverton said Sparks-Ward is not a student and has a permanent address in Chicago. He was staying in an apartment on Annie Glidden Road at the time of the stabbing.