Novak was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets, and Houston Texans of the NFL, as well as the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe, the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League (UFL), the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL.

In the second stanza, Novak connected on a 26-yard field goal that ultimately won the game for a resurgent Terrapin team.

[4][5] Novak would go on to establish himself as one of the more consistent and clutch kickers in the country; his leg keyed comeback victories against North Carolina State in 2002 and 2003.

During the first game of his senior season, Novak became the ACC's all-time leading scorer, kicking a field goal and allowing him to surpass Scott Bentley's career total of 324 points.

Novak ultimately ended his college career with 393 points, which was best in the league and fifth-best all-time amongst kickers in the NCAA at the time of his graduation.

Maryland Coach Ralph Freidgen said, "I don't think there could have been a more deserving recipient for the Tatum Award than Nick Novak.

In 2007, he was selected to be commemorated in a special edition poster recognizing the top 30 figures in Maryland football history entitled "A Winning Tradition", "honoring and paying tribute to the players and coaches who made a significant impact on the Maryland Football Program, both on and off the field over the past fifty plus years."

[7] Novak signed with the Washington Redskins in September 2005, and appeared in five games, notably hitting a game-winning extra point in the narrow season-opening 14–13 road victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football and coming through with a game-saving tackle on the ensuing kickoff.

Three weeks later in a 20–17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, he kicked a game-winning field goal in overtime, which kept the Redskins undefeated and atop the NFC East.

Shortly after his release from the Redskins, Novak was signed by the Arizona Cardinals for kickoff duties while Neil Rackers hobbled through the latter half of the 2005 season.

[9] After spending the 2006 preseason with the Cardinals, he re-signed with the Redskins on October 10, 2006, again replacing injured kicker John Hall.

Then, a facemask penalty was called which moved the ball to the Cowboys’ 30-yard line and gave the Redskins one more play with no time on the clock.

After an impressive preseason with the Bears, Novak was released due to the presence of All-Pro kicker Robbie Gould.

[11] On April 29, 2010, Novak signed with the reigning AFC West Champion San Diego Chargers to provide depth behind Nate Kaeding.

[12] After matching Kaeding, but ultimately losing out to the incumbent, the Chargers released Novak in the final round of preseason cuts.

[14] In his league debut against the Las Vegas Locomotives, Novak set the UFL record for the longest field goal with a 54-yarder.

[20] On September 13, 2011, Novak was re-signed to a two-year contract with the Chargers after Nate Kaeding suffered an ACL injury to his left knee on the opening kickoff against the Minnesota Vikings.

[30] Novak and the Chargers ranked at various spots in the top three in average kick-off starting field position for the majority of the year.

[30] During a narrow Week 2 33–30 road victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, Novak drilled a tie-breaking 45-yard field goal in the final seconds.

[32] In the regular-season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, Novak kicked a game-winning 36-yard field goal in overtime that turned out to be the game-winner in the Chargers' 27–24 playoff-clinching victory.

[39] During a Week 14 23–14 loss to the New England Patriots, Novak filled in as a punter after replacing the injured Mike Scifres.

[42] On September 5, 2015, Novak was released in the final round of preseason cuts in favor of undrafted rookie Josh Lambo.

The opponents' average starting field position on Novak's 62 kickoffs was the 24-yard-line (tied for 16th out of the 32 active kickers/kick-off specialists and their coverage units as of week 17).

[53][50] During the Wild Card Round against the Oakland Raiders, Novak kicked two field goals, from 50 and 38 yards, and three extra points in the 27–14 victory.

[63] During the 2019 AAF season opener against the Memphis Express, Novak made all four of his field goal attempts in a 26–0 victory.