GREEN BAY – If the NFL adds a 17th regular-season game to its schedule, the Packers will need to figure out how to deliver that game to their fans.

Members of the NFL players union were mailed ballots last week on a new collective bargaining agreement, which includes a controversial 17th regular season game. The proposal would cut preseason games from four to three. Players have until Saturday night to vote.

If the agreement is approved by a majority of union members, I would expect the NFL to alternate the extra home game and odd-numbered preseason game between conferences. One year, the NFC would get nine home games and one preseason game, the next year it would have eight home games and two preseason games.

It should be noted, the Packers haven't indicated how they would distribute tickets for a ninth regular-season home game and they haven't asked my opinion. But here it is anyway: I suggest having Green, Gold and White packages. Green and Gold would get three regular-season games a year and alternate one preseason game.

The White package would get three regular-season games when the NFC is host to the nine-game card, and two regular-season and one preseason game in the alternating years when the Packers host two preseason games.

Creating a third season ticket packages could:

Reduce costs for Green package ticket holders if they so choose.

Possibly result in fewer fans from other teams buying up tickets, since each plan holder might be less motivated to sell.

Reduce the 135,000-plus season ticket waiting list by a fair amount, as happened when the Packers added about 7,000 seats in the south end zone.

Introduce a whole new bunch of Packers fans to the joys (and habit) of attending games in person.

Over two years, each package would have one dreaded preseason game. The White package would get five regular-season games, one less than the other two during that two-year period. Sorry White package, but that's the price of being the newbie.

Green package ticket holders, who now get one preseason and six regular-season games, would be offered the option of reducing their package by three regular-season games. They would not be required to do so, but for those who are beginning to feel the cost burden, it would be a way to lessen the expense.

If they chose to not reduce, they would, in effect, have both the Green and White packages.

Games would have to be assigned as they are now with the Gold package. Those ticket holders always get the second and fifth home games of the year.

I have no firm thoughts on how that should play out, but for sake of argument, I would give the Green package the first, fourth and eighth games. Gold would get two, five and seven. White would get three, six and, when there was one, nine.

The ninth game could decide a conference championship, so consider it a reward for that two-game alternate season and less access to playoff tickets.

What to do about playoff tickets is a more cold-blooded proposition. I'd leave it as is, with Green package getting first crack, followed by a Gold package lottery for the remaining tickets. If any are left over, they could go to the White package. It's not especially equitable, but I've not come up with another plan that wouldn't be an administrative nightmare.

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During years when the NFC has one preseason and nine regular-season games, the per-ticket cost would break down like this, based on 2020 tickets prices:

Green package would get one preseason and three regular-season games. The cost would be between $412 and $505, compared to a range of $766 and $968 this year.

Gold package would get three regular-season games. The cost would be between $354 and $447, compared to a range of $294 and $362 this year.

White package would get three-regular season games and also pay between $354 and $447.

During years when the NFC had two preseason and eight regular-season games, the cost would break down like this:

Green package would get three regular season games. The cost would be between $354 and $447.

Gold package would get one preseason and three regular-season games. The cost would be between $412 and $505.

White package would get one preseason and two-regular season games. The cost would be between $294 and $372.

Speculation is that eventually the NFL would like to have every team play an international game every year, which means all teams would go back to eight regular-season home games and then we'd have to tweak the packages. But the league has said that's not going to happen soon. There are not enough stadiums that are both available and meet NFL game standards, and creating that infrastructure won't happen overnight.

I would also include a system for allowing Gold and White package holders to buy up when Green packages are available. The upside, Gold package holders would gain first option at playoff games and White package holders would have more guaranteed regular-season games and more playoff possibilities. The downside is you almost certainly would have to sit somewhere else in the stadium. For some fans, that would be a deal breaker.

I asked a couple of season-ticket holders for their thoughts on my plan and on adding the 17th game generally.

"There are usually no easy answers when it comes to tickets," said Kevin Rades of Appleton. "One group may like something, while another group will totally disagree."

Rades, as it turns out, isn't sold on my plan. He could see the Packers alternating the extra game between the Green and Gold packages, meaning each would get an extra game every four years.

"Your idea for another list is very interesting, but also very challenging," he said. "It would be difficult to agree on a formula for what games are assigned to each list without creating a lot of problems."

Rades has his own suggestion for keeping opposing fans from populating Lambeau. He would like to see the Packers create a ticket-selling portal available only to people on the waiting list. Tickets would be sold at face value. (I would make it available to season-tickets holders as well.)

"I totally understand we currently can use Ticketmaster to sell extra tickets, and those sales are protected so you can't have your tickets revoked if an obnoxious fan purchases them," he said.

He would offer that protection only to those who sell on the Packers-to-Packers portal.

"You get more Packers fans at games, which obviously helps with game-day experience for everyone by creating a better home-field advantage, waiting list people are happy for face-value prices, season-ticket holders are happy their sales are protected," he said.

Those who wanted to sell tickets at more than face value can continue to use the secondary markets, but with the caveat their seats wouldn't be protected from misbehaving fans.

Nate Hoernke, a Green package ticket holder from Mosinee, is more in my corner. He said the cost of attending a game easily tops $600 for his family of four, and each year he sells some of his tickets to reduce the cost of his season ticket package.

"I used to be able to sell the tickets at face value to family and friends, but there has been less interest every year," he said. "I would also sell prime games on NFL Ticket Exchange at a premium to help offset the cost of our Green package."

Even there, he said, tickets are becoming cost-prohibitive and the market is saturated.

"I'm to the point that I would rather take the family on a long weekend to Door County or Minocqua for the cost of a single Packers game," he said.

Hoernke likes the three-package idea.

"That would ease the burden on us current ticket holders and reduce the waiting list," he said. "I think very few people attend more than three games and it's really pretty easy to get tickets for any game you want to using the Ticket Exchange."

Opponents are less important in deciding which games to attend than is weather and game time.

"My only concern would be the handling of playoff games. I wouldn't want to give up my rights to those tickets," he said. "There is nothing like the electricity of those cold, often snowy games."