17776

This article is about the fictional narrative by Jon Bois. Not to be confused with 1776 or 1776 (disambiguation). For the minor planet, see 17776 Troska.

17776
In the background, the sun shines from a cloudless sky upon the Statue of Liberty, submerged up to the chest in deep blue water. In white text over the background are the words "17776 an American football story written and illustrated by Jon Bois".
Title screen from the story's opening video
Author(s)Jon Bois
WebsiteWhat football will look like in the future
Current status/scheduleCompleted
Launch dateJuly 5, 2017
End dateJuly 15, 2017
Publisher(s)SB Nation
Genre(s)Speculative fiction

17776 (also known as What Football Will Look Like in the Future) is a serialized speculative fiction multimedia narrative by Jon Bois, published online through SB Nation. Set in the distant future in which all humans have become immortal and infertile, the series follows three sapient space probes that watch humanity play an evolved form of American football in which games can be played for millennia over distances of thousands of miles. The series debuted on July 5, 2017, and new chapters were published daily until the series concluded with its twenty-fifth chapter on July 15, 2017.

Bois began developing 17776 in 2016. Because the story incorporates text, animated GIFs, still images, and videos hosted on YouTube, new tools were developed to allow it to be hosted efficiently on the SB Nation website. The work explores themes of consciousness, hope, despair, and why humans play sports. 17776 was well received by critics, who praised it for its innovative use of its medium and for the depth of emotion it evoked. In 2018, the story won a National Magazine Award for Digital Innovation and was longlisted for both the Hugo Awards for Best Novella and Best Graphic Story.

It is followed by a sequel series: 20020, released from September to October 2020, which Bois intends to follow up with a further series entitled 20021. The sequel series follows a 111-team game of college football on fields spanning 130,000 miles across the United States.