On the field, New England Patriots superstar Tom Brady is known for holding the ball until the very last moment, sacrificing his body for the good of the team. He’s taken some punishing hits only to come back stronger than ever.

Off the field, he’s just as fearless.

But the thrill-seeking dad is getting burned on social media for his latest daredevil maneuver. His leap off a cliff with his apprehensive 6-year-old daughter during a vacation in Costa Rica has the GOAT getting lit up on Instagram.

Even actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was startled.

“You KNOW I have complete faith in you as a man, friend, player and father,” the Rock said on Instagram, “but this just gave me anxiety, Geeezus.”

Retired quarterback Brett Favre, a fellow adrenaline junkie, said the brave girl “is a 10 but old dad” gets a thumb down. He did add three laughing faces.

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Others called out the “haters,” saying they should let Brady parent as he sees fit.

But, Boston-based parenting expert Joani Geltman’s gut reaction was “Oh my God!”

“It certainly looked scary to me,” Geltman said. “It wasn’t safe to start with. She’s not an experienced swimmer. She didn’t have a life jacket on. As an adult, no problem. But for a child, it felt unsafe in every way.”

The six time Super Bowl champ posted a video Friday of him and his daughter, Vivian, jumping off the waterfall.

Brady and his daughter are standing at the cliff’s edge holding hands. Brady says, “One, two, three, go!” Vivian hesitates but Brady pulls her off the cliff with him and they plummet – close to the rocks – into the water below. During the fall, Vivian turns in the air and hits the water awkwardly on her side.

“If Vivi is going to be an Olympic champion one day, it probably won’t be in synchronized diving. Daddy always gives her a 10 though!” read the video’s caption.

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Clearly, Brady saw nothing wrong with it.

“Tom Brady is a man who’s fearless. He wouldn’t be able to do what he’s doing if he was afraid of getting hurt. That’s just in his brain make up,” said Geltman. “Oftentimes, children will want to please their parents. Oftentimes, parents will nudge kids, ‘Come on, don’t be scared,’ because it’s not scary for them and they forget maybe what a child might feel.”

Some of Brady’s 6.3 million Instagram followers weren’t happy.

“Absolutely the most stupid and dangerous thing for a 6 year old child to do. You should be ASHAMED,” wrote one.

“Glad my dad never did this to me,” said another.

“What if she landed wrong and broke her neck. She’s not experienced or old enough to do this,” one comment stated.

“Our kids,” Geltman reminded parents, “are not mirror images of us.”


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