How the UFL replaced Google Sheets with a partner portal built on Softr Databases

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The Problem

The United Football League needed a better way to showcase its athletes and help support its brand partnerships. The league relied on Google Sheets to track player rosters, bios, and social media stats—but the setup wasn’t ideal for external use or real workflows. 

Google Sheets offered no real access control for partners, and made it hard to track inquiries once they came in. The experience didn’t reflect the energy or professionalism of the league, and it didn’t scale as more partners and athletes were added.

Jason Bernstein, who leads brand partnership strategy, wanted a modern portal that would give partners an intuitive way to explore the UFL’s athlete roster and reach out for activations. Static websites lacked interactivity, and custom development was too expensive.

The league needed a solution that would:

• Feel premium and match the league’s bold, visual brand
• Allow partners to browse, search, and filter athletes easily 
• Automate how partners inquiries are captured and tracked internally (and replace Google Sheets as the system of record)

The Solution

Working with Softr partner Shenal Harakh of Sunset Studio, the UFL launched a fully branded partner portal in under a month. Softr Databases act as the single source of truth for athlete profiles and partner inquiries, while Softr’s app builder powers the partner-facing portal.

Here are the main workflows the app handles:

• Athlete Directory & Player Discovery: Logged-in partners browse a visual grid of UFL athletes with filters for position, college, team, and social following. Clicking a player opens a detailed profile view with photos, stats, and an inquiry form. 
• Inquiry Submission Automation: Inquiries submitted from an athlete profile automatically capture the athlete, the logged-in partner account, and contact details behind the scenes. Partners receive instant confirmation, while the UFL team sees every inquiry logged in real time, no manual follow-ups required.
• Admin Dashboard & Content Management: UFL staff manage athletes, inquiries, and partner accounts from a tabbed admin dashboard built using Softr’s inline-editable tables. Updating records is as easy as using a spreadsheet, but with far more structure and control.
• User Access & Permissions: Role-based permissions ensure brand partners only see approved, public-facing athlete data, while admins have full control over records, users, and workflows.
• On-Brand Visual Experience: Softr’s flexible design tools allowed the team to implement UFL’s updated branding mid-project (including full-bleed photography and dark-mode styling) with no disruption to app functionality.

“Using Softr Databases gave us structure on the backend, and the frontend design flexibility to match UFL’s bold aesthetic,” said Shenal of the building experience.

The Impact

The partner portal took under a month to design and launch. Since then, it has become a central tool for showcasing athletes, enabling brand discovery, and managing partnership inquiries—all without relying on developers or disconnected tools.

Internally, the UFL team manages athlete data, partner access, and inquiries from Softr Databases. What used to require manual lookups and follow-ups now happens automatically, freeing the team to focus on activating partnerships instead of maintaining spreadsheets and manual processes.

The portal has also unlocked these key results: 

• 400+ athletes and brand partners managed through a single, data-powered platform
• 5+ workflows automated
• 0 hours spent chasing inquiry submissions or sending follow-up confirmations

“Having an experienced partner like Shenal for this project made all the difference in making this a simple, yet incredibly valuable tool—and one that works without fail each and every time,” said Jason. 

Next up, the UFL is preparing a roster refresh following its most recent draft. The team will update the portal with new players ahead of the 2026 season kickoff in March, all without rebuilding the app or migrating data.