Cairo Fernandes Santos (KYE-roh SAN-tohs, SAWN-; born 12 November 1991) is a Brazilian-American professional American football placekicker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Santos is the first Brazilian-born player in NFL history.
Santos spent parts of his first four seasons in the NFL with the Chiefs, before being released midway in the 2017 season. Between 2017 and 2019, he had brief stints with the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans. In 2020, Santos was reacquired by the Bears and has remained with them since.
Born on 12 November 1991 in Limeira, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, Santos was raised in Brasília, the capital, where his father worked as a pilot for Varig. Santos was unfamiliar with American football until he moved to St. Augustine, Florida, as a foreign exchange student at age 15. Originally, Santos planned to stay at St. Joseph Academy for a year to learn English, but soon found that the kicking skills he had developed playing soccer in Brazil translated well to field goal kicking in American football. With the opportunity to earn a college scholarship, Santos remained in Florida, sharpening his kicking skills throughout high school.
Santos committed to Tulane on 22 January 2010. He also received interest from Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, and Miami (OH).
Santos played in all 12 games as a freshman and was named to the Conference USA (C-USA) All-Freshman Team and was honorable-mention All C-USA after leading the Green Wave in points scored while making 13 of his 16 field goal attempts (81.3%), 32 of his 33 PATs (97%), and handling kickoff duties.
As a sophomore, Santos played in all 13 games and finished second on the team in scoring, making 11 of 18 field goals (61.1%) and 33 of 34 PATs (97.1%) while handling kickoffs and punting duties, averaging 41 yards a punt.
Santos had a breakout year as a junior as he went 26 of 27 (96.3%) on PATs (his only miss was blocked) and 21 of 21 (100%) on field goals, including a school record 57-yard field goal. His 21 made field goals without a miss set an NCAA Division I record that still stands as of 2026. Twelve of those field goals were from 40-plus yards and 2 from 50-plus, and 31 of his 55 kickoffs (56.4%) went for touchbacks. At the end of the season, Santos was named consensus All-American and received the Lou Groza Award for the nation's most outstanding placekicker.
Santos went on to compete in the 2014 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, where he connected on a 39-yard field goal.
Santos was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs on 19 May 2014. He was named the Chiefs kicker on 30 August, beating veteran Ryan Succop for the position.
On 7 September 2014, Santos became the first Brazilian-born player ever to play in an NFL regular season game in a 26–10 loss to the Tennessee Titans, kicking his first career field goal. After missing two field goals in his first two games, he made his next 13 field goal attempts, including a clutch game-winning field goal with 26 seconds left in a Week 7 victory over the San Diego Chargers and a 53-yard field goal the following week against the St. Louis Rams.
In the 2014 season, Santos converted all 38 extra point attempts and 25 of 30 field goal attempts. Santos was the team leader in scoring with 113 points, the most by a rookie in Chiefs history. He also made most field goals (25) by a rookie kicker in Chiefs history (tied with Ryan Succop).
During a Week 4 36–21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Santos kicked a team record seven field goals, including two over 50 yards. His seven field goals tied him with five players for the second most all-time in a single game. During Week 10, Santos made five field goals of six attempts against the Denver Broncos, the second game in the season with at least five field goals made. During Week 15, Santos kicked a 53-yard field goal against the Baltimore Ravens. This was the fourth field goal with at least 50 yards in the season. In the 2015 season, Santos converted 39 of 41 extra point attempts and 30 of 37 field goal attempts.
In a 30–0 victory against the Houston Texans in the American Football Conference (AFC) Wild Card Round game, Santos became the first Brazilian player to play in an NFL playoff game. He made three field goals and three extra point attempts. He kicked two 49-yard field goals, the longest field goals in the Chiefs postseason history. In his second postseason game, Santos made two field goals in a 20–27 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round game.
In Week 2, Santos kicked a 54-yard field goal in a 12–19 loss to the Texans, the longest field goal of his professional career.
Santos made two field goals in the 30–27 overtime victory against the Broncos including the game-winner, a 34-yard field goal attempt that bounced off the left upright.
In November, Santos was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the first time after converting 11 of 11 field goals and all five extra points. In the 2016 season, Santos appeared in all 16 games and converted 36 of 39 extra point attempts and 31 of 35 field goal attempts.
After missing much of training camp and the preseason with a groin injury, Santos returned at the start of the 2017 season. He started by converting all six extra point attempts in a 42–27 victory over the Patriots on Thursday Night Football. On 26 September, the Chiefs placed Santos on injured reserve. On 30 September, the Chiefs waived Santos from injured reserve.
On 20 November 2017, Santos signed with the Chicago Bears. He missed his first field-goal attempt as a member of the Bears, a 54-yarder. On 4 December, Santos was placed on injured reserve after hurting his groin in pregame warmups in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers. He totaled five games in the 2017 season with two teams. He finished converting all 14 extra point attempts and four of five field goal attempts.