From childhood soccer to NFL stardom, Talita Santos reflects on her brother Cairo’s journey and their unbreakable sibling bond.
Cairo Fernandes Santos has carved out an impressive career as a professional American football placekicker for the Chicago Bears.
Born on November 12, 1991, in Limeira, São Paulo, Brazil, Santos holds the distinction of being the first Brazilian-born player in NFL history.
His journey to professional football began unexpectedly when he arrived in St. Augustine, Florida, as a 15-year-old exchange student with no knowledge of American football.
Santos excelled at Tulane University, where he achieved the best field goal percentage in school history at .782.
His stellar college career culminated in winning the prestigious Lou Groza Award in 2012, recognizing him as the nation’s most outstanding placekicker.
The Kansas City Chiefs signed Santos as an undrafted free agent in 2014, launching his professional career.
After spending his first four seasons with the Chiefs and brief stints with multiple teams, Santos found his permanent home with the Chicago Bears in 2020.
Since returning to Chicago, he has established himself as one of the league’s most reliable kickers, earning multiple NFC Special Teams Player of the Week and Player of the Month honors.
In December 2023, Santos signed a four-year extension worth $16 million, cementing his status as a cornerstone of the Bears’ special teams unit.
Cairo Santos’ Sister, Talita, Recalls Growing Up With a Future NFL Kicker in Their Brazilian Home
Talita Santos, Cairo’s older sister by just one year, shares an unbreakable bond with the NFL kicker that began in their childhood home in Brasília, Brazil.
The siblings grew up in a typical Brazilian household where soccer dominated their playtime, though neither could have imagined that Cairo’s constant ball-kicking would eventually lead to an NFL career.
Talita vividly remembers her brother’s early passion for kicking.
She recalls how Cairo would repeatedly launch balls into their neighbor’s yard, creating awkward situations for the family.
“I remember at our house when we were kids, he always kicked the ball into our neighbor’s [yard],” Talita shared.
The neighbor grew increasingly frustrated with Cairo’s persistent requests to retrieve the ball, so Talita often stepped in to help.
“He would ask me to get the ball back because he already asked 1,000 times and the neighbor wasn’t happy,” she explained.
Even their mother would joke that Cairo was training to become a kicker, a prediction that proved remarkably prophetic.
When Cairo left Brazil at 15 to participate in a student exchange program in Florida, the separation hit Talita harder than she anticipated.
Despite the typical sibling rivalry that characterized their childhood, she discovered just how much her brother meant to her.
“I cried for a week,” Talita admitted when recalling his departure.
“I never expected to miss him so much because we were kids and we were always fighting. But it was very hard because I only have him.”
chiefs
The Santos family found the distance particularly challenging since Talita and Cairo were the only siblings.
Their parents, Cairo Sr. and Magalie, along with Talita, relied heavily on Skype calls to maintain their connection across the 4,300 miles separating them.
Cairo admits he needed frequent video calls during his first two months in America.
“The first two months I had to Skype my parents and my sister a lot,” he recalled.
These regular conversations became the lifeline that kept their family close despite the geographical separation.
Talita acknowledges the difficulty of being so far from her brother but emphasizes the family’s happiness about his new opportunities.
“It’s very hard for everybody to be so far away from him, but we were very happy that he was happy about this new step of his life,” she said, capturing the bittersweet mixture of pride and longing that defined those early years.
The Santos family’s concerns about Cairo living so far from home eased considerably after meeting David and Kathy Burnett, the Florida family who hosted Cairo during his exchange program.
Talita credits the Burnetts with playing a crucial role in her brother’s development into an independent man.
“Kathy and David were very supportive,” Talita explained.
“I think he learned a lot from them about becoming the independent man he is now. They were so great to him and we were relieved that he was in such a great place.”
chiefs
The relationship between Cairo and the Burnetts evolved from a simple host arrangement into a genuine second family.
This connection provided Talita and her parents with peace of mind, knowing Cairo had caring adults looking after him in the United States.
Today, while Talita remains in Brazil, their mother Magalie has relocated to the United States to be closer to Cairo and his family.
Cairo now has two children of his own, and his mother enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Cairo Santos learned the rules of American football by playing the Madden video game on his Xbox.
- He became the first Brazilian player to participate in an NFL playoff game during the 2015 season with the Kansas City Chiefs.
- He made history as the first player born in Brazil to compete in the NFL.
