The five-year-old National Women’s Soccer League has sold an equity stake to A&E Television Networks as part of a broad sponsorship and broadcast-rights agreement that will provide the league with an infusion of cash, steady national television exposure and something it may value even more: an investor committed to its future.

Under the agreement, announced Thursday morning by officials from A&E and the league, the Lifetime network, which A&E owns, will become a league sponsor and the television home for its matches for the next three seasons. The initial package for the 2017 season, which will start in April, is for 25 games: 22 games of the week, on Saturdays at 4 p.m. Eastern, and the league’s playoff semifinals and final.

Network and league officials would not reveal the value of A&E’s investment, though they confirmed that it was a multimillion-dollar commitment. That figure is spread among an equity investment that gives A&E Networks two seats on the league board, the television rights to league games, and a sponsorship that will be most visible to fans by a Lifetime patch on each player’s sleeve.

For the television executives who helped forge the partnership, a new joint venture created by A&E and the N.W.S.L. to manage and market the league’s commercial rights and sponsorships may be as important as the televised games. That venture, NWSL Media, will handle all of the league’s digital assets, including a redesigned league website; enhanced statistics and live-streaming capabilities; apps for mobile platforms; and control of the league’s social media channels.