The growing popularity of rugby in the US and a string of lucrative commercial deals could boost the brand value of the All Blacks to half-a-billion US dollars (NZ$762m, €468m, £327m) within a decade, according to analysts.

While New Zealand’s victory at this year’s Rugby World Cup added US$36m (NZ$54m, €34m, £24m) to its valuation to bring its current worth up to US$169m (NZ$251m, €158m, £111m), international valuation firm Brand Finance have estimated that this could more than double to US$500m by the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Bryn Anderson, head of Brand Finance’s Sports Marketing unit, suggested that the valuation could be achieved if the All Blacks capitalise on the sport’s growing presence, particularly in America, by staging exhibition games or competitive matches in key growth regions, akin to the NFL moving games to the UK.

When the All Blacks played an exhibition match against the US Eagles in 2014 62,000 fans attended Chicago’s Soldier Field to watch. It was also broadcast on NBC to a large audience.

Anderson also pointed to a string of solid commercial partnerships, particularly with Air New Zealand, AIG and Bulgari, as key to the team’s brand-building capability.

He highlighted the generally affluent fan base for rugby, including the emerging fans in the US who tend to be college educated and workers in professional roles, as the type of individuals that are attractive to sponsors.

“If managed properly to ensure brand fit, there is no reason they [the All Blacks] couldn’t establish dozens of global top tier partnerships in the same way that football clubs such as Manchester United have done,” he said.

However, Anderson warned that the “conservative approach” taken by New Zealand Rugby in establishing new deals could hinder value growth.

He added: “Adidas extended its deal to 2019 while the fees for broadcast and content rights have been agreed with Sky TV until 2020, meaning that two key commercial deals cannot be renegotiated for over three years.”

An increase in value of this kind could move the All Blacks beyond its status as “pre-eminent brand” in rugby alongside other major sports team brands.

According to the Forbes Fab 40: The World’s Most Valuable Sports Brands 2015, the New York Yankees (US$661m, NZ$1bn, €619m, £433m) head a list dominated by teams from American sports and European football.