Bears Rumors: Cairo Santos Signs 4-Year, $16M Contract Extension; $9.5M Guaranteed

Cairo Santos is going to be kicking field goals for the Chicago Bears for years to come.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Saturday that Chicago signed the kicker to a four-year, $16 million contract extension that features $9.5 million in guarantees. That means Santos is signed with the Bears through the 2027 campaign.

The veteran has kicked for the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans since entering the league in 2014. It also marked his second career stint with the Bears when he joined them ahead of the 2020 campaign.

Santos has found more success in Chicago than any of his other stops.

He was just 4-of-9 on field goals for the Titans in 2019 but bounced back in 2020 by going 30-of-32 for the Bears. In all, he has connected on 90.5 percent of his field goals in 65 games for Chicago, with his second-best mark being the 84.8 percent he made in 51 games for the Chiefs.

That Santos has found such success in Chicago is particularly notable because the windy and lackluster conditions the team often plays through in the latter portion of the season are difficult on the kicking game.

The Bears have also been burned by special teams gaffes in the past, most notably when Cody Parkey's infamous double-doink field goal didn't go through in a playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2018 campaign.

That was the last season Chicago finished with a winning record, so Santos hasn't been put into such pressure-packed situations during his tenure.

But the hope for the Bears is he will be at some point over the course of this new contract extension.