When the Chicago Bears signed Cairo Santos for a second stint with the workforce in August, they raised questions at a kicker place already overstuffed with them in Windy Metropolis. On the time, the membership had been biking by means of kickers and dancing round the way forward for incumbent Eddy Piñeiro, who was himself added within the wake of Cody Parkey‘s notorious 2018 playoff miss. Now, with Santos recent off a profession 12 months headlining the Bears’ particular groups, Chicago has secured the veteran for the long run with an enormous payday.

In response to the Chicago Tribune‘s Brad Biggs, the Bears have agreed to phrases with Santos on a brand new five-year contract price as much as $17.5 million. The ultimate two years of the deal are voidable, per Biggs, so it is basically a three-year, $9 million deal price as much as $11 million. Both method, the extension marks the long-anticipated finish to a “kicker carousel” in Chi-City, to not point out a considerable pay increase for the 29-year-old Santos, who hadn’t stayed with a workforce for a couple of season since starting his profession with the Chiefs.

Santos counted simply $700,000 in opposition to the Bears’ wage cap in 2020. Below the three-year extension, he’ll common a most of $3.66 million per 12 months, making him one of many prime 15 highest-paid kickers within the NFL.

Undrafted out of Tulane in 2014, Santos spent the primary 4 years of his profession in Kansas Metropolis, connecting on greater than 80% of his field-goal tries in every of his first three seasons. A groin damage restricted him early in 2017 earlier than the Chiefs launched him from injured reserve, and he spent the following three seasons as a journeyman, showing in 16 video games between the Bears, Rams, Buccaneers and Titans. After rejoining Chicago in 2020, he changed the injured Piñeiro and hit on 30 of 32 subject objectives, in addition to 36 of 37 additional factors.