The Chicago Bears attempted to solve their kicking woes on Thursday by signing kicker Cairo Santos to a long-term contract.
The Bears signed Santos to a five-year contract worth $16 million on Thursday, per Bears reporter Brad Riggs. At first glance, it’s a surprising contract. Signing kickers beyond a two-year deal tends to be a risk. But the Bears ensured they could get out of the contract by year four if Santos doesn’t live up to expectations.
Santos’ contract with the Bears is voidable following the third year of the deal. As pointed out by Riggs, the contract is really a three-year deal worth $9 million. If Santos lives up to expectations and plays all five years of the contract, he could make a maximum of $17.5 million.
All things considered, it’s not the worst deal for the Bears. They’ve secured their kicker for at least the next three years. And if Santos doesn’t live up to the hype, Chicago can find a new kicker as soon as 2024 by voiding Santos’ contract.
After a record-setting season, #Bears have agreed to terms with K Cairo Santos on a $16M, 5-year contract with a max value of $17.5M.
Final 2 years of deal are voidable so it’s really a $9M, 3-year deal with max value of $11M.
No more kicker carousel.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) March 12, 2021
The 29-year-old Cairo Santos was almost perfect for the Bears last season. Santos made 30-of-32 field goal attempts last season, which is the best conversion rate of his seven-year NFL career. His only misses came from the 40-49 and 50-plus range.
Santos’ new contract is well-earned after producing his best season yet in 2020.
The Bears kicker needs to keep up the pace in 2021 after scoring a lucrative new deal.
The post Chicago Bears Reportedly Sign K Cairo Santos To Big Contract appeared first on The Spun.
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