They value him. They just value their bottom line more.
I have a feeling that management must have sent out feelers through the league to see if anyone else coveted him before making the decision they did. I mean, avoiding arbitration in this way is risky if you think you're going to lose the player. Byron signing here indicates that no one around the league saw value in him. At least here, the coaches know his game and appreciate him. I have a feeling that Hartley does what he can to keep him in the mix, because Hartley's was a huge Paul Byron fan last year.