How a Brazilian Soccer Player Became An NFL Kicker

Cairo Santos kicked his first NFL field goal on September 7, 2014, becoming the first Brazilian-born player to appear in a regular-season game. He arrived in the United States twelve years earlier as a 15-year-old exchange student from Brasília, with a background in futebol and no particular plan to play American football. That trajectory, from the soccer pitches of the federal capital to NFL record books, remains unmatched by any player born in Brazil.

From Limeira to St. Augustine

Santos was born on November 12, 1991, in Limeira, São Paulo state; his family relocated to Brasília during his childhood. He grew up playing futebol in the capital, developing ball-striking mechanics that would later translate to a specialized position in a sport he had barely encountered. At 15, he left Brazil for St. Joseph Academy in St. Augustine, Florida, a coastal city south of Jacksonville. The exchange program placed a Brazilian teenager with elite soccer instincts into an American high school football culture. Coaches identified his kicking power and accuracy, redirecting his athletic focus from midfield toward goalposts. By graduation, Santos had converted his informal soccer training into formal place-kicking technique, attracting college recruiters with a skill set rare even among American specialists.

The Lou Groza Award and Tulane

He enrolled at Tulane University in New Orleans in 2010, playing four seasons through 2013. The 2012 season established his national reputation. Santos won the Lou Groza Award as the top college kicker in the country and earned consensus All-American honors, the first Tulane player to achieve that distinction since 1979. His range and consistency in Conference USA play demonstrated that a Brazilian-developed kicking foundation could compete at the highest collegiate level. NFL scouts, however, remained skeptical of international specialists. Santos went undrafted in 2014.

Kansas City and Historical Firsts

The Kansas City Chiefs signed him as an undrafted free agent on May 19, 2014. He won the starting job in training camp and debuted in the season opener against Tennessee, making him the first Brazilian-born player in NFL regular-season history. His rookie year produced immediate statistical impact: 25 of 30 field goals, a perfect 38 of 38 on extra points, and 113 total points, setting a Chiefs rookie record. In January 2015, he became the first Brazilian-born player in a playoff game, kicking in Kansas City’s wild-card loss to Indianapolis.

Santos spent three seasons with the Chiefs, handling place-kicking duties through 2016. That November, he participated in the league’s My Cause My Cleats initiative, wearing custom footwear honoring Chapecoense, the Brazilian club devastated by a plane crash earlier that month. The gesture connected his NFL platform directly to Brazilian sports culture at a moment of national mourning.

The Wandering Years

Injuries and roster decisions disrupted his career after Kansas City. The Chicago Bears signed him briefly in 2017, though a groin injury limited his appearances. The Los Angeles Rams added him in 2018, releasing him after two games. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers employed him from 2018 into 2019, followed by a short stint with the Tennessee Titans later in 2019. Across four teams in three seasons, Santos demonstrated the precarious employment reality for NFL kickers, even those with established accuracy. Teams cycle through specialists weekly, and international players face additional scrutiny when performance fluctuates.

Chicago Records and the 2020 Return

Santos rejoined the Bears in 2020. This second Chicago tenure transformed his career from itinerant specialist into franchise record-holder. He made 27 consecutive field goals during the 2020 season, part of a longer streak that reached 40 consecutive makes across multiple seasons. That reliability in a position defined by volatility earned him contract stability rare among kickers.

As of the 2025 season, the Bears list Santos as the most accurate kicker in their franchise history at 88.3 percent, converting 159 of 180 field goal attempts. In 2024, he recorded eight field goals from beyond 50 yards, demonstrating range that persisted into his thirties. The 2025 season brought additional milestones: 25 of 30 field goals, a perfect 39 of 39 on extra points, and the distinction of becoming the first Bears kicker to convert a 50-plus-yard attempt in a playoff game. Chicago’s special teams unit, historically uneven, has anchored part of its identity around a Brazilian-born player who entered the league undrafted and unemployed by four separate franchises.

The Other Brazilians in NFL History

Santos remains the only Brazilian-born player to appear in an NFL regular-season game, though others have reached roster proximity. Durval Queiroz Neto, known as Duzão, represents the clearest parallel. Born in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, the defensive lineman entered the NFL through the International Pathway Program, a league initiative designed to develop elite international athletes for American football. Duzão spent time on the Miami Dolphins practice squad, gaining professional experience without appearing in a regular-season contest. The program continues to identify Brazilian athletic talent, particularly among former futebol players whose physical profiles suit specialized football positions.

Several NFL players carry Brazilian heritage through parental nationality without being born in the country. Rodrigo Blankenship, a kicker who played for Indianapolis and Tampa Bay, fits this category. His parents were born in Brazil, giving him cultural and linguistic connections to the country, though he was born in the United States and developed through American high school and college systems. This distinction matters for Brazilian fans tracking national representation: Santos and Duzão entered the league as Brazilian nationals, while Blankenship and similar players represent diaspora connections rather than domestic development pathways.

What the Kicker’s Path Reveals

Santos’s career illustrates a specific athletic migration pattern. Futebol-raised kickers possess transferable mechanical skills, leg strength, and pressure performance experience, but they require American football contextual training: the snap-hold rhythm, the compressed timing of NFL blocking schemes, and specialized equipment. The exchange student system, which placed Santos in Florida at 15, provided that developmental window. Athletes arriving later face steeper adaptation curves.

The position’s narrow specialization works in favor of international converts. A place-kicker does not require a comprehensive American football background to contribute; Santos never played quarterback, linebacker, or offensive line. He needed to strike an oblong ball between uprights under time pressure, a task overlapping substantially with penalty kicks and set-piece striking in futebol. His Tulane success validated the college transition point, and his undrafted Chiefs signing showed that NFL teams would eventually overlook origin if production was verifiable.

Brazilian sports infrastructure has not systematically pursued this pipeline. Santos emerged through individual circumstance, exchange program placement, and American collegiate identification. Duzão’s International Pathway Program participation represents institutional progress, though the program remains small and competitive. For Brazilian viewers encountering NFL broadcasts, Santos’s continued Chicago employment provides a specific rooting interest in a league without domestic franchise presence. His 40 consecutive field goals, his Chapecoense cleats, his 50-yard playoff make: these concrete reference points transform American football from an inaccessible foreign sport into something a Limeira-born, Brasília-raised athlete mastered at its highest level.