Seems like I remember that he did offer it to them and they turned it down.
THe reason I ask is that nearly every engineer, working for a large company, signs an agreement that anything they invent while working theiri belongs to the company. The engineer gets the patent in his name and usually a small stipend. The company gets the rights. I know this because my husband has about 10 patents with 2 different companies (long since expired). His father had about 23.
I always thought it was unfair that the company got all the money and glory (about a billion $$$ for one of them) while my husband got about $100 for each patent and $50 for those he shared. But, he explained that it is fair because they paid him for all the months he spent not inventing anything.